Chapter 17
Workplace Violence: Prevention and Intervention.
Goal: To discuss the issue of workplace violence and how to prevent or intervene in situation that occur in the workplace.
Objectives:
- To identify the various threats associated with workplace violence
- Discuss the phenomenon of workplace violence.
- Discuss how the work environment and violence are related.
- Explain how to profile violent behavior.
- Explain how to prevent workplace violence.
- Discuss intervention strategies.
Lecture:
This chapter addresses what is for some, one of the most frightening and more frequently occurring realities of work day life: violence on the job. Violence is defined as "unwanted exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse" or a "vehement feeling or expression." Threat, harassment, attack and sabotage are workplace forms of violence. While not a new phenomenon in America, it claims over 1 million victims every year. Note the history of violence in America, its favorable depiction on TV as a way to settle problems, and you have the necessary ingredients for violence. This chapter, written by an expert, contains the latest research on profiling violent behavior, levels of violence and the wisdom of organizing a Violence Intervention and Contingency Team (VIACT.) (See pages 326 and 327 of the text.) Since most of us work, we should ask: do we work with individuals with traits described here? Could you intervene if necessary? Should we all have a sense of urgency here, or is such a possibility too far removed from us and our workplace? We don't have to look far- only to the Triad Center in Salt Lake City and the LDS Genealogical Library. These were scenes of relatively recent extreme violence. Remember those events?
Note that there are statistics in your text. You should know that more recent statistics show that workplace violence is actually decreasing! Not counting homicide, workplace violence (it can range from hair-pulling to beatings to shootings) has decreased 44% from 1993 to 1999. What appear to remain the same, though, are statistics about who is likely to be a victim. No, it's not a postal worker! It's normally a police officer, a corrections officer, or a taxi driver. Also, a person who works in an all-night gas station, liquor store - not really safe places to work.
You should also know that despite the press accounts of school violence, statistically, schools are still safe places for kids.
What you need to know is that your company should have a policy that should include:
Background checks on employees (so you don't hire a potentially dangerous employee).
Zero tolerance for threats and violence.
Fast response by management, human resources, and security.
Access to employee assistance programs ("EAP") to get help for employees who may feel stressed out or who are victims at work.
Here's a site: Office of Justice Programs Home Page you can find some interesting stats about workplace violence and other crimes.
ASSIGNMENT: What do you think about the concern about workplace violence and concealed weapon permits?
