Workplace violence...keeping employees safe

Marlette M SaulRural Telecommunications. Washington: May/Jun 2000.Vol. 19, Iss. 3;  pg. 42, 4 pgs

 

Classification Codes

6100,  5140,  9190

Locations:

United States,  US

Author(s):

Marlette M Saul

Document types:

Feature

Publication title:

Rural Telecommunications. Washington: May/Jun 2000. Vol. 19, Iss.  3;  pg. 42, 4 pgs

Source type:

Periodical

ISSN/ISBN:

07442548

Text Word Count

1840

 

Abstract (Document Summary)

Recently, violence in the workplace has received considerable attention in the popular press and among safety and health professionals. Much of the reason for this attention is the reporting of data by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Heath and others regarding the magnitude of this problem in US workplaces. One should look at what is known about fatal and nonfatal violence in the workplace to determine what is needed for prevention. A number of factors may increase a worker's risk for workplace assault, and they include: 1. contact with the public, 2. exchange of money, and 3. working alone or in small numbers. Many states have passed concealed weapons laws, further adding to the workplace violence. A priority is to develop a workplace violence prevention policy to establish a system for documenting and ultimately eliminating violent incidents in the workplace.

Full Text (1840   words)

Copyright National Telephone Cooperative May/Jun 2000

we have all seen the headlines: "Gunman kills 1, wounds 3 in Seattle shipyard shooting"; "Gunman kills 7 in Honolulu office"; and "Gunman in Atlanta rampage kills himself 12 dead, 12 injured."

Recently violence in the workplace has received considerable attention in the popular press and among safety and health professionals. Much of the reason for this attention is the reporting of data by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and others regarding the magnitude of this problem in U.S. workplaces.

Unfortunately, sensational acts of coworker violence (which form only a small part of the problem) are often emphasized by the media to the exclusion of the almost daily killings of taxicab drivers, convenience store clerks and other retail workers, security guards, and police officers. These deaths often go virtually unnoticed, yet their numbers are staggering: 12 percent of the 6,026 on-the-job deaths in 1998 were homicides.

Nonfatal assaults are also of concern to employers and workers alike. In 1997, 21,329 employees needed an average of five days off work to recover from nonfatal assaults. Death or injury should not be an inevitable result of one's chosen occupation, nor should these staggering figures be accepted as a cost of doing business in our society If our responsibility is the safety of those in our organization, isn't it essential that we prevent the hazard as opposed to waiting to react to it?

Let us look at what is known about fatal and nonfatal violence in the workplace to determine what is needed for prevention. Although no definitive strategy will ever be appropriate for all workplaces, we must begin to change the way work is done in certain settings to minimize or remove the risk of workplace violence. We must also change the way we think about workplace violence by shifting the emphasis from reactionary approaches to prevention, and by embracing workplace violence as an occupational safety and health issue.

Long-term efforts to reduce the level of violence in U.S. society must address a variety of social issues such as education, poverty, and environmental justice.

However, short-term efforts must address the pervasive nature of violence in our society and the need to protect workers. We cannot wait to address workplace violence as a social issue alone but must take immediate action to address it as a serious occupational safety issue.

Risk Factors

A number of factors may increase a worker's risk for workplace assault, and they include the following:

Contact with the public

Exchange of money

Delivery of passengers, goods, or services

Having a mobile workplace such as a taxicab or police cruiser

Working with unstable or volatile persons in health care, social service, or criminal justice settings

Working alone or in small numbers

Working late at night or during early morning hours

Working in high-crime areas

Guarding valuable property or possessions

Working in community-based settings The rural areas' workforce is not

immune either. In an August 6, 1999, Washington Past article, a businesswoman interviewed after the shooting in "a bedroom community to Birmingham, with most people working in the city and opting to live in this peaceful community of farmland," stated, "We were all wanting to say that it couldn't happen here, but it is terrible nowadays - no place is safe anymore."

The Need for Workplace Precautions

The National Underwriter Company in November 1996, reported that many states have passed concealed weapons laws, further adding to the workplace violence. There are two areas of concern. First, the duty of care owed to your customer on the premises, and, second, the duty of a safe working environment owed to an employee.

An employer allowing customers on the business premises has to provide a reasonably safe place. Customers invited to enter the premises for purposes connected with the business are known as business invitees; the duty owed an invitee by the owner is to exercise reasonable care to keep the premises reasonably safe, and to warn of all concealed dangerous conditions.

Should the customer in a state with a concealed weapons law assume the sales clerk waiting on him or her is armed? Or must the store post warnings? Even if the local, informed citizen could be presumed to know of such laws, what about a customer from out of state? No easy answers exist.

If an employee, carrying a concealed weapon, negligently or deliberately shoots a customer who is legitimately on the business premises, and the employer is subsequently sued for the injuries suffered by the customer, will a commercial general liability (CGL) policy afford insurance coverage to the employer? Whether the employer is liable is debatable, but two facts are certain: One, the employer will most definitely be brought into any lawsuit by the injured customer; and, two, the duty of the employer's insurer to defend the insured employer will be triggered.

What about the employee shot at the workplace, or what of an employee carrying a concealed weapon to work who shoots a fellow employee, resulting in a claim against the employer? Can the employer look to an insurance policy for coverage? Actually coverage in the above situations may be provided by workers' compensation insurance. The workers' compensation policy offers the benefits required of the insured by the state workers' compensation law and employer's liability for bodily injury arising out of and in the course of employment by the insured.

Consider as well an employer forbidding employees to carry weapons to work. What if an employee is subsequently attacked and beaten at work? Can that employee then file suit claiming his ability for self-defense was impaired by the employer's action? Maybe, maybe not; this is where the situation becomes not so black and white.

Unfortunately there is no end to the potential problems concealed weapon laws pose for employers. It is not enough for insured employers to count on general liability and workers' compensation policies for insurance coverage under most circumstances. Good risk management calls for preemptive action.

A Violence Prevention Program

The first priority is to develop a workplace violence prevention policy to establish a system for documenting and ultimately eliminating violent incidents in the workplace. A written workplace violence policy should clearly indicate a zero tolerance of violence at work, whether the violence originates inside or outside the workplace.

Just as workplaces have developed mechanisms for reporting and dealing with sexual harassment and other inappropriate activities, they must also develop a workplace violence prevention program, including "threat assessment" teams to which threats and violent incidents can be reported.

These teams should include representatives from all departments, including the legal and public relations departments. The charge to this team is to assess threats of violence (e.g., to determine how specific a threat is, whether the person threatening the worker has the means for carrying out the threat, etc.) and to determine what steps are necessary to prevent the threat from being carried out. The violence prevention policy should explicitly state the consequences of making threats or committing acts of violence in the workplace.

A comprehensive workplace violence prevention policy and program should also include procedures and responsibilities in the event of a violent incident in the workplace. This policy should explicitly state how the response team is to be assembled and who is responsible for immediate care of the victim(s), re-establishing work areas and processes, and organizing and carrying out stress debriefing sessions with victims, their coworkers, and perhaps the families of victims and coworkers. Employee assistance programs, human resources professionals, and local mental health and emergency service personnel can offer assistance in developing these strategies.

Responding to a Threat of Violence

For a situation that poses an immediate threat of workplace violence, all legal, human resources, employee assistance, community mental health, and law enforcement resources should be used to develop a response. The risk of injury to all workers should be minimized. If a threat has been made that refers to particular times and places, or if the potential offender is knowledgeable about workplace procedures and time frames, patterns may need to be shifted. For example, a person who has leveled a threat against a worker may indicate, "I know where you park and what time you get off work!"

In such a case, it may be advisable to change or even stagger departure times and implement a buddy system or an escort by security guard for leaving the building and entering parking areas. The threat should not be ignored in the hope that it will resolve itself or out of fear of triggering an outburst from the person who has lodged the threat. If someone poses a danger to himself or others, appropriate authorities should be notified and action should be taken.

Dealing with the Consequences

Much discussion has centered on the role of stress in workplace violence. The most important thing to remember is that stress can be both a cause and an effect of workplace violence. That is, high levels of stress may lead to violence in the workplace, but a violent incident in the workplace will most certainly lead to stress, perhaps even to post-traumatic stress disorder.

The data from the National Crime Victimization Survey presents compelling evidence (more than a million workdays lost as a result of workplace assaults each year) for the need to be aware of the impact of workplace violence. Employers should therefore be sensitive to the effects of workplace violence and provide an environment that promotes open communication; they should also have in place an established procedure for reporting and responding to violence.

Although no single intervention strategy is appropriate for all workplaces, immediate action should be taken to reduce the toll of workplace homicide on our nation's workforce. This message still holds true and applies not only to workplace homicide, but to all workplace violence.

From the perspective of the witness/victim and their families, the ramification of workplace violence is devastating. The loss of human life can never be replaced. The emotional trauma of being involved and witnessing an act of violence cannot be described in words. After violence has occurred, many valuable employees will never return to work.

Clearly, violence is pervasive in U.S. workplaces, accounting for 6,026 on-thejob deaths in 1998 and 21,329 nonfatal assaults in 1997. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health continues to pursue research and prevention efforts to reduce the risk of workplace violence for the nation's workers. The murder of an average of 20 workers each week is unacceptable and should not be considered the cost of doing business in our society.

[Reference]

Violence in the workplace related reading and references

 

 

 

[Reference]

Web site: <wwwosha-slc.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/guideline.html>. This Web site provides a sample Workplace Violence Prevention Program (WPVP), an example of a complete written WPVP program, a sample self-inspection security checklist, a sample incident report form, and a sample employee security survey.

Cabral R (1995). Workplace violence: viable solutions under collective bargaining. New Solutions, spring issue.

Thomas J L (1992). Occupational violent crimes: research on an emerging issue.

 

 

 

[Author Affiliation]

Marlette M. Soul is director of underwriting.for National Telcom Corporation (Greenbelt, MD).