After graduating 10 years ago, Rose remained jobless despite applying for several job advertisements. She tried applying one more time, just for the sake, was invited for an interview and got employed. She did not mind starting off at a junior level, where most of her workmates were much younger.
Excited, she would talk to everyone smiling, trying to make friends and master the skills and competencies. But she started noticing her colleagues wouldn’t respond to her greeting, were unwilling to assist, and made sarcastic eye contact and funny body gestures. Wondering what was wrong with herself, she went into depression, was mentally exhausted and isolated. Three months later, she couldn’t sustain the onslaught and quit.
In human resource, what Rose was subjected to is a typical example of horizontal violence. Horizontal violence is bullying, refusing to assist a colleague, ignoring a colleague’s greeting, laughing unnecessarily at a colleague, making sarcastic comments, prolonged eye contact and funny body gestures.
It is horizontal because is it violence among colleagues in the same rank; it becomes vertical violence when it is from a supervisor to a subordinate, for example. Horizontal violence harms, disrespects and devalues an employee and is a clear way of denying employees their dignity and basic human rights.
Horizontal violence tends to manifest itself naturally in the workplace. There exist natural and informal categorisations of employees into 'them' versus 'us' that fuel this form of violence.
Specifically, the natural recognition of employees as 'new' versus 'ordinary', 'junior' versus 'senior', 'young' versus 'old', 'novice' versus 'experience', etc, innocently contributes to horizontal violence. It is especially so where the organisation has not put in place measures and strategies to prevent it.
While it is inevitable to do away with such classification, suppressing the impact or misuse of such categorisation is what HR and management should aim at achieving. An understanding that oppressive behaviours consistent with horizontal violence arise from the inherent 'pecking order' in most workplaces is the starting point in addressing the problem.
There exist a number of measures that can be employed by management to address the problem of horizontal violence. First, is awareness of the problem and putting in place zero-tolerance policies on the vice.
Training against the vice is equally paramount. This is informed by the fact that it is difficult to report every incident of horizontal violence. However, when employees understand the impact of their actions on their colleagues, it makes more sense, coupled with a zero-tolerance policy.
Another strategy is encouraging the self-reporting of such incidents, especially through a well-developed negative act questionnaire. Such questionnaires should be easily available to all employees.
Prevention is better than cure, so they say. Therefore, the best intervention is having effective leadership at departmental or unit levels. An informed leader will try to suppress the inherent 'them' versus 'us' mentality in the workplace.
Evidence shows that authentic leaders are effective at mitigating horizontal violence within their jurisdiction. HR professionals need to spearhead educational support and cognitive-based training and mentorship to employees in addition to enforcing the code of conduct.
Such strategies working together are important in raising awareness of horizontal violence. The outcome is a working environment that is healthier for all employees. Perhaps, had Rose been aware of such interventions, she would have not resigned from her job.
Many employees are suffering innocently in workplaces because they lack such awareness. In most cases, even the perpetrators of horizontal violence are not aware that their actions violate their code of conduct and that they are involved in horizontal violence.
No one knows what Rose was determined to achieve for the organisation. Horizontal violence killed her career, and by extension, so was the organisation, perhaps, through the 'death' of a visionary employee.
Certified Human Resource Professional
The views expressed in this article are her personal opinion and do not reflect the views of the institutions where she works or has previously worked
