There are various ethical issues in Nursing and ‘Lateral Violence’ is one of them. It has been identified by various names such as bullying, harassment in the workplace, relational aggression, workplace inactivity, horizontal violence and so on. Globally, nurses and other professionals become a victim of lateral violence and according to surveys, around twenty-five hundred nurses were interviewed and they reported that; 80 percent of the nurses were being bullied and faced lateral violence in their working shifts. This paper considers the questions adhering ‘lateral violence’.
Yes, my co-workers are aware of the term ‘lateral violence’ and they know about what constitutes lateral violence. It is a serious ethical issue which results in serious consequences. The famous taboo for this is ‘nurses eating their young’. According to Centre of American Nurses (2008), in the workplace; bullying and lateral violence has been recognized in an extensive manner between the interactions of healthcare specialists. It is a harmful behaviour from one employee towards another employee. These acts could be non-verbal or verbal in terms of aggression. Example: gossiping, bullying, harassment or psychologically abusing. In the workplace, lateral violence is the severe issue as it lowers self-esteem and confidence (Jenny, 2010).
My facility has a clear reporting procedure in the circumstances of workplace aggression as there is a respected culture where every individual is valued and safe and violence against co-workers is intolerable. The senior executives always display the commitment towards decreasing violence and aggression, and everyone is clear about their responsibilities. Moreover, nursing representatives and staff are entirely involved in creating and maintaining policies and strategies towards reducing bullied acts and persecution and timely conduct reporting against violence at the workplace.
The staff should report to the senior management about any concerns regarding violence at work because those senior staffs are experienced and could discover a better way to eradicate violent acts.
Individuals should report about certain repercussions which makes them uncomfortable such as gossiping of nurses, non-verbal behaviours such as making faces to other employees, eye-rolling or non-verbal comments like ‘why you are so slow’, inactivity and idleness which demoralize the ability of workers such as refusing to help or assist each other, blaming or scapegoating each other in the workplace, workplace conflicts.
Yes, my facility provide sustained mental health program for every individual whether the employee is nurse or executive. These programs ensure conditions of mental health which improves employees’ productivity. Issues such as depression, anxiety and stress are properly managed by effective guiding lessons and plans to support emotional wellbeing as well as good psychological health. Additionally, training and various creative programs are held that are effective in reducing the stress of employees in the workplace. These approaches work effectively to manage better psychological wellbeing of staff.
The action is taken place when some individual expresses a concern to supervisory staff. For instance; if some individual reports or complaints about the gossiping of nurses who are always busy in sharing their personal life and all the workload is upon other nurses; then the management take serious notice by warning employees. Likewise, if an employee is severely bullied by other personnel then; management has a right to dismiss that employee without paying the salary. If there is a complaint from patient’s side, then management take urgent action against workers and confine them towards taking better care of patients.
Reference
Jenny. (Dec 15, 2010). Lateral Violence in Nursing [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4McGxc6TRk8
