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Workplace Violence

Workplace Violence “And who has not thought that the impersonal world deserves no better than to be destroyed by one fabulous sign of his displeasure?” (J. Bronowski, The Face of Violence) Workplace violence has become a concern for both public and private companies, and has prompted these companies to implement anti-violence programs. As well they should, for the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows in their Special Report on Workplace Violence, researched by Dr. Greg Warchol , that in each year for the period of 1992 – 96 more than 2.2 million residents were victims of violent acts while they were working or on duty. (BJS Special Report, July 1998, NCJ 168634) The most common violent act committed was simple assault with an estimated 1.5 million victimizations each year and then followed by an estimated yearly average of 395,000 aggravated assaults, 51,000 rapes and sexual assaults, 84,000 robberies and 1,000 homicides. A stranger to the victim committed the majority of workplace crime while less than 1% were intimates. Men were more likely to be the perpetrator and or the victim of violence. In the public arena retail workers had the highest rate of robbery and aggravated assault victimization while police and teachers were the most often victimized in the public arena. 20 % of violent incidents in the workplace involved an armed offender of which a firearm was used fewer than 10% of the time. This is that data that faces all employers in every sector and by which they must base their approach to formulate programs that will help create a safe and comfortable atmosphere for both their employees and their clients. Many of the conditions that prevail in today’s workplace seem to breed critical incidents. Among them are: 1.) Competitive pressures. Relentless global market forces demand constant changes in methods of production and workplace organization. Employees find themselves having to perform in new ways and more efficiently. In addition, privacy has been eroded by electronic surveillance on the job, drug testing and computerized performance monitoring. Abrasive co-workers or autocratic supervisors create additional stresses. The long-term consequences may be overwhelming psychological stress leading to hostility and outbursts of violent or bizarre behavior. 2.) Domestic dysfunction overspill. Family discord, domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse, and other social ills intrude into the workplace. According to the U.S. Department of labor, “Seventy four percent of employed battered women are harassed by their abusive partners at work, causing 54 percent to miss at least three full days of work a month and 20 percent to lose their jobs. These figures do not take into account battering that is unreported to employers due to the absence of guaranteed protection and counseling. The total effect and extent of domestic overspill is yet to be recognized. 3.) Changing workplace demographics. Growing ethnic, linguistic, cultural and gender diversity is likely to foster inter-group tension. One factor is the accelerating pace of immigration. The percentage of the foreign born in the U.S. population has doubled since 1970 and now stands at the highest rate in almost 60 years 98.7percent). In heavily impacted regions, the proportion is much higher: nearly 25 percent of Californians for example were born outside the U.S. This phenomenon is radically altering the demographics of the workplace and increasing the risk of pervasive inter-group tension in the workplace. Since conflict among employees may erupt in violence companies need to address the causes. Companies need to put in place prevention plan and policies for dealing with incidents of workplace violence. In addressing the occurrence of violence in the public sector, Tacoma School District has implemented two curriculums that help teach violence prevention. Get Real About Violence, developed by Comprehensive Health Education Foundation, is used to “…accomplish two goals: to encourage students to change the norms that promote and perpetuate violence, and to address factors that put students at risk for becoming involved with violence” (1). The other curriculum used at Tacoma School District is Kathy Beland’s Second Step, which is “…a curriculum designed to reduce impulsive and aggressive behavior in children, and increase their level of social competency through empathy training, interpersonal problem-solving, social skill training, and anger management” (1). Both programs utilize structured guidelines that assist in addressing violence at the onset. The programs present an essential perspective on the problem of violence, and contribute in teaching the most effective techniques in combating problematic behavior. Recently, The Boeing Company established a company-wide procedure that utilizes identification, assessment, and response tactics in addressing workplace violence. The procedure “…identifies one or more of the following as workplace violence: all threats to personal safety, including stalking, unwelcome touching, bullying, intimidating demeanor, or comments (written or verbal) directed at another” (Company Offices Procedure PRO-1870). Identifying and communicating ways to report threats and to report the occurrences of violence has become the responsibility of the newly established Threat Management Teams at The Boeing Company. Critical incidents must be responded to using resources such as psychologists and/or psychiatrists, security services, or local law enforcement. Dissemination of new directives, information, and resources in the form of brochures and videos regarding workplace violence will be forthcoming. Education and communication within the workforce are critical and essential. Employees will be required to complete and file Incident Reports. The Threat Management Team, in combination with the preceding resources, should help reduce and/or eliminate violence in the workplace at The Boeing Company. Workplace violence as you can see, is a problem that plagues us all. With the pressure on everyone to perform, from the man in the ditch to the CEO, its know wonder were having a problem. And both the public and private sectors of business are in a mad dash to stop the violence that is happening. With all the major corporations having either an anti violence program or rules about such behavior, what is the cost to the individual? Will they have to work harder and more efficiently? Will there be more threats and intimidation to perform, to cover the cost of these programs? Or will business see an improvement in the working relations of its employees? With the right people in charge of these programs, there is hope for improvement, but only if business is serious about the problem! You see very little TV coverage of work place violence, unless it extremely violent. Even then there must be a death, or deaths to bring on the sensationalizing that TV needs. Because of this, will business wait for the coverage to demand a solution or will they head it off. When you’re at work, there’s no reason “… to be destroyed by one fabulous sign of his displeasure”. Only time will tell. Bibliography:

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