Workplace Violence

What is “workplace violence”?

Workplace violence is a serious safety and health issue that refers to (i) any act of aggression or (ii) any threatening statement that could be perceived as intent to cause harm to an employee or to the organization.  Some examples include physical and verbal assaults, rape, stalking, destruction of property and, in extreme cases, homicide.  A broader definition of workplace violence includes any behavior that might contribute to a hostile work environment.

Like other types of harassment, the perception of hostility with respect to workplace violence is established by the victimized individual, not the perpetrator.  So this means that not only do your employees need to be safe, they need to feel safe.  

Workplace violence occurs in organizations of every size and every industry.  Even organizations with as few as three employees have experienced incidents of workplace violence.  Thus, every organization must put in place an effective policy and program to reduce the likelihood of an incident of workplace violence and the potential for legal liability.

So why does your company need training on handling workplace violence?

As the employer, you can be held liable for death or injuries caused by employees, customers, suppliers, vendors, or intruders.  And, ironically, you can even be held liable for claims brought by the violent employee.

Creating a workplace violence policy that provides guidelines as to what behavior is and is not acceptable and addresses what employees should do when they feel fearful or bothered is imperative.  Further, implementing and enforcing the policy so that employees understand to whom complaints should be reported, how threats may be investigated and assessed, and the consequences for unacceptable behavior before it escalates to an incident of workplace violence is an organization’s best offense to preventing workplace violence.  Moreover, the policy should be clear as to the consequences of actual incidents of workplace violence.  EPG is prepared to help your organization with each step of this process

The statistics are staggering:

• Each year, more than one million U.S. workers are victims of workplace assaults.
• The annual cost to the employer of these assaults is nearly $40 billion.
• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), homicide is the fourth-leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States.  There were 551 workplace homicides in the United States in 2004, out of a total of 5,703 fatal work injuries.
• One out of every six violent crimes happens at work.
• According to a Gallup poll, nearly 25% of respondents of working adults indicated that they were “generally at least somewhat angry at work.”
• Finally, homicide is the second-leading cause of work-related deaths.

Some of the most commonly cited causes of workplace anger are:

• Actions by supervisors or managers (performance reviews, raises, work assignments, layoffs)
• Co-workers who are not productive
• Unrealistic deadlines
• Heavy workloads
• Disgruntled customers
• Former employees
• Employees experiencing instability in their personal or familial relationships.

Training Objectives

Employment Practices Group will meet these objectives during our training session with your employees:

• Create a comprehensive workplace violence prevention policy and program tailored to your organization that outlines employer-specific prevention and threat assessment techniques, as well as guidelines for dealing with threats and incidents of workplace violence.
• Identify the perpetrators of workplace violence.
• Explore the warning signs and “trigger” events of potential workplace violence and how to address those warning signs.
• Develop threat assessment and investigation skills and techniques.
• Discuss ways to create a respectful and harassment-free work environment.
• Review the consequences of workplace violence.

Helpful Links:
Centers for Disease Control: National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2006-144

U.S. Department of Labor; Occupational Safety and Health Administration:
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/index.html#hottopics

Federal Bureau of Investigation:  Workplace Violence -- Preventing It: Managing It
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/march04/violence030104.htm