A Victim’s Checklist of Behaviors
According to Wilkie (1996, p. 3-5), Horizontal Violence affects people progressively. Most people
transition through three specific stages until they are no longer able to deal effectively with their
emotions, their environment, or even their job. These three stages include identifiable symptoms and
may help you track the personal impact of your situation.
Stage 1 - Activation of the fight or flight response causes higher circulating levels of adrenalin
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Reduced self esteem
Sleeping disorders
Free floating anxiety
Low Morale
Eating disorders
Stage 2 - Neurotransmitters become depleted from lack of sleep and the brain becomes over stimulated
and over sensitive
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Difficulty with emotional control - bursting into tears or laughter/irritable or angry responses
Difficulty with motivation – a self-starter becomes “burned out”
Hypertension
Nervous conditions
Apathy
Stage 3 - Brain circuit breakers are activated
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A relative intolerance of sensory stimulation
Loss of the ability to ignore things that before were manageable
Changed response patterns which superficially resemble a change of personality (brain circuit
breakers induce person to actively reduce incoming stimuli)
Disconnectedness
Depression
Impaired personal relationships
Removal of self from workplace - psychologically, physically (sick leave, stress leave, resignation)
Suicide (successful or attempted)
(See Wilkie, W. (1996). “Understanding the behavior of victimized people" in McCarthy, P. Sheehan, M. & Wilkie, W. (eds)
Bullying, from backyard to boardroom. Millennium Books: Australia.)
In 2010, Hutchinson et al published the results of a study that typified bullying behavior into 3
categories: personal attacks, erosion of professional competence and reputation, and attacks through
work roles and tasks. Over time, if you repeatedly experience the following checklist of behaviors,
adapted from that study, you may be a victim of horizontal violence:
Personal Attacks
Have you repeatedly been the target of isolating, marginalizing behavior by an individual or group you
work with?
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Been excluded from conversations
Been the target of malicious gossip
Been excluded from activities
Specifically been denied important information or communications
Been ignored
Been separated from peers who were supportive of your interests and needs
Been the victim of slurs and jokes based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation
Have you repeatedly been intimidated or threatened, on a covert or overt basis, by an individual or
group you work with?
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Been the target of raised voices or hands
Been stared at, watched or followed
Had your personal belongs or work equipment tampered with or destroyed
Had your patient care compromised or obstructed
Been the target of verbal or physical threats
Been singled out and unfairly monitored
Been the victim of repeated verbal abuse
Been pushed or shoved
Had your work sabotaged
Been told not to report incidents of hostility or face repercussions
Have you repeatedly been the target of belittling, degrading or humiliating behaviors by an individual or a group
you work with?
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Deliberate rolling of eyes
Been the target “humorous” put downs
Folding arms of arms
Staring into space when communication is attempted
Disinterest, discouragement and withholding support
Body language designed to discomfort another or others
Ignoring or minimizing another's concerns
Limiting right to free speech and right to have an opinion
Behaviors which seek to control or dominate (power 'over' rather than power 'with')
‘Freezing out‘; excluding from activities and conversation, work related and social
Been the consistent butt of sarcastic comments
Been consistently blamed or made to feel stupid or incompetent
Been accused of mental instability
Been publicly humiliated by your mistakes
Received excessive criticism
Had your area of practice, level of expertise, educational experience or setting denigrated publicly
Professional Competence and Reputation
Have you repeatedly had your professional identity including skills, qualifications and quality of work unfairly
attacked, either covertly or overtly?
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Been publicly denigrated for your ability
Been publicly denigrated for your achievements
Publicly had your skills questioned
Been consistently assigned work that is demeaning and below your skill level
Received unsubstantiated claims of poor performance
Been the butt of rumors, slander or character slurs
Public had your credentials questioned
Have you been unfairly denied professional opportunities?
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Been denied opportunities to compete for promotion
Been denied promotion based upon unfair reports of your work group or supervisor
Been overlooked for promotion
Been excluded from committees and activities
Been excluded from social groups that enhance organizational reputation and communication
Been isolated from managerial contact
Been excluded unfairly from skill development or educational opportunities, or travel
Been given assignments that erode your skills
Work Roles and Tasks
Have you repeatedly experienced systematic discrimination that makes it more difficult to succeed?
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Been relocated so that your job is more difficult
Been removed from administrative support
Been excluded from routine information necessary for your job
Had your work reorganized so that you are working in isolation
Had necessary equipment removed from your work area
Been assigned an unreasonable workload or unmanageable, changing deadlines
Is your work excessively scrutinized
Have you been denied meal breaks or other benefits
Have you been required to complete an unreasonable amount of written records unlike your coworkers
Have you been denied sick or conference leave
Have you received unfair sanctions by supervisors?
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Have you been unfairly rostered to lower paid shift work
Have you been given a limited number of shifts while others unfairly receive preference
Have you been unfairly dismissed from your organization
Has your position been reclassified to a lower status
Have you been denied redress of your concerns
(See Hutchinson M, Vickers M, Wilkes L & Jackson D (2010) A typology of bullying behaviors: The experiences of Australian
Nurses. Journal of Clinical Nursing 19, 2319-2328.)
Symptoms of Workplace Stress
In addition, workplace violence takes a significant toll on the victims’ personal health, social
interactions, family health and professional life. Symptoms of workplace stress from horizontal
violence were categorized by Bigony in 2009.
Are you exhibiting the following signs? If so, you may be suffering from stress in a toxic
workplace.
Physical Signs of Stress
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Weight loss or gain
Cardiac palpitations
GI disorders
Headaches
Sleep disorders
Chronic fatigue
Hypertension
Nervous conditions
Eating Disorders
Fibromyalgia
Emotional Signs of Stress
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Depression
Anxiety
Low Self-Esteem
PTSD
Feelings of isolation and insecurity
Suicidal or homicidal thoughts
Low morale
Apathy
Depression
Bursts of anger
Social Signs of Stress
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Inability to relate to others
Disconnectedness
Impaired personal relationships
Professional Signs of Stress
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Burnout
Job Dissatisfaction
Absenteeism
Affected Patient Care
Do you want to quit your job?
Removal of self from workplace (sick leave, stress leave, resignation)
(See Bigony L, Luncberg A & Pagac G (2009) Lateral violence in the perioperative setting. AORN Journal 89 (4), 688-696.)