Violence In The Workplace

DE 51

Dominique, Deanna, Yan, Grecia, Nina, Maria

Work Place Violence….

Takes place anywhere, at anytime, and no one is immune.

It is “any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site”

It can be verbal abuse, physical assaults, and even homicide.

A National Concern… For both employers and employees

There are nearly 2 million American workers who are victims of workplace violence every year regardless of gender, class, ethnic group, or occupation (despite unreported cases)

Workers whose jobs involve money exchange, public transportation/service, healthcare, customer service, law enforcement and who work alone or in a isolation area are more vulnerable to workplace violence.

2010 Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

6% decline in self-employed workers vs. 2% increase in wage and salary workers.

74% increase in private mining industry 10% decline in private construction sector 200% increase in injuries resulted from

fire 7% decline in workplace homicide- 13%

increase involved women 9% decline among Non-Hispanic black or

African-America vs. 2% increase in Non-Hispanic white workers vs. 4% decline among Hispanic or Latino workers

40% increase in police officers.

Types of Violence

Physical Verbal Psychological

Sexual Harassment Bullying

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Preventing violence in the workplace…

 Avoid working alone Avoid working late at night Carry a cellular phone Family or Spouse knows emergency info.

Safety and health training etc.

Emergency Procedures

What to do when it happens…

Emergencies in the workplace are seldom expected and very rarely correctly planned for.

Your level of preparedness if an emergency were to occur, could mean the difference between life and death.

Do you know what to do???

If medical care is needed, CPR or first aid should be performed by a person who is trained in administration. If there is no skilled person, wait for emergency professionals. Be careful not to come in contact with blood, vomit or other bodily fluids.

Administer First Aid and CPR

What should employees do following an incident of workplace violence: Encourage employees to report and log all incidents and

threats of workplace violence. Provide prompt medical evaluation and treatment after the

incident. Report violent incidents to the local police promptly. Inform victims of their legal right to prosecute perpetrators. Discuss the circumstances of the incident with staff members.

Encourage employees to share information about ways to avoid similar situations in the future.

Offer stress debriefing sessions and post-traumatic counseling services to help workers recover from a violent incident.

Investigate all violent incidents and threats, monitor trends in violent incidents by type or circumstance, and institute corrective actions.

Discuss changes in the program during regular employee meetings.

Types of Emergencies…

Violence and Aggression

Suicide

Shelter in place

lockdowns

Evacuations

Violence and Aggression

The American Federation of state, county and municipal employees (AFSCME) suggests a number of steps that should be followed after a violent event has occurred

Step 1…

Injuries must be attended to and medical personnel called if needed.

Recognize and deal with the need for psychological/ emotional assistance by the victim or any other party affected by the event.

How to deal with potential problems?

Cal OSHA Guidelines: Know your rights and responsibilities Intervene promptly Be clear about the facts of the problem as you see them

Ask people who are involved to describe their perceptions of the problem.

Set clear expectations assess additional needed resources and get outside help as needed

Create a post injury report…

Include: Were injuries or harm done. Where did event occur. Was the worker alone. Was a security guard on duty, if yes, was guard notified, if yes, did guard respond.

What time did violent event take place. Who was the perpetrator. Were there threats before incident. Did the affected worker report being threatened or harassed, if so, what was done.

What type of weapon was used if any. How did the perpetrator get the weapon. How did the weapon get into the work environment.

Aggression and Violence

If a person enters the workplace in an aggressive manor, or becomes physically violent, It is important to remain calm!

Cal OSHA also provides these steps:

If an emergency occurs: Call the appropriate officials Call the police Do not intervene physically Get yourself and others to safety ASAP If possible, keep a line to the police open until they arrive

Post incident response: Follow up with all involved and affected people

Provide support and care for those who need it.

Make appropriate referrals for those who require them.

Send the necessary reports to the appropriate offices and agencies

Resources… National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health(NIOSH)

http://www.niosh.gov

Intimate Partner Violence• American Domestic Violence Crisis Linehttp://www.awoscentral .com

Harassment• www.hatecrimes.org• www.civilrights.org

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission• http://www.eeoc.gov

Workplace stress• Center for Stress Managementhttp:// www.managingstress.com

Impact of Violence

The employee is affected physically, psychologically, and financially, which ultimately affects the company as a whole.

Physical Affects…

Following any traumatic incident of workplace violence, the survivors have many physical affects that can influence a person’s entire life, including relationships as well as the ability to be productive at work and everyday activities.

Absences at work

Impaired job performance

Lost wages for the employee.

Economic Impact of Workplace violence

Workplace violence cost about half a million workers 1,751,100 days of work each year

This missed work resulted in over $55 million in lost wages annually, not including days covered by sick days and annual leave

Medical and mental health care services due to violence in the work place has totaled to more than $8.3 billion

Lost Productivity

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the estimated annual cost of lost productivity due to domestic violence is $727.8 million in 1995

More than 7.9 million paid workdays - the equivalent of more than 32,000 full time jobs - lost each year.

Statistics The

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates there are 2 million cases of

workplace violence each year.

396,000 aggravated assaults 51,000 rapes and sexual assaults 84,000 robberies 1,000 homicides reported

● The most common type of workplace crime was assault with an average of 1.5 million a year.

● Homicide is the second leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States.

● The largest number of homicides in one year was 1,080 in 1994; the least was 540, in 2006.

● These figures likely fall short of the actual number of violent acts occurring in workplaces as not all acts of workplace violence are reported. 

Case Study- Floria Floria was a 62 year old pharmacist, who worked for a well-known national chain of drug stores. She had worked for the same company for almost 30 years, and had won the admiration and respect of her customers and co-workers. The night before her murder, Floria visited her daughter. “I could tell she was upset.” Her daughter later remembered in a deposition. “She was almost in tears and a nervous wreck, I knew why, of course. It was the continuing problem at work. It was him.”

Case Study- Floria “Him” was a man named Robert. The 32 year-old was also a pharmacist in the drug store where Floria worked. Co-workers referred to Robert as a “firecracker”. A man with a violent temper. Numerous customers complaints cited Robert as rude and abusive. He often left his work undone, the pharmacy area a mess, and supplies low. When Floria complained to the younger man, he responded by yelling at her, or blaming others. Floria complained to the store manager and told her that she was becoming fearful of Robert.

Case Study- Floria Some months before, Floria arrived on duty just as a customer discovered that they had been given the wrong medication. The pharmacist on duty was Robert. When the error was brought to his attention, Robert began to scatter pills in all directions, hurl a clipboard across the room, and scream at the top of his lungs. As frightened customers fled the store, Robert continued his rant at Floria, insulting her. He announced to all that he “would get her”.

Case Study- Floria Perhaps because of increasing customer complaints, or tensions at the store, a meeting was scheduled two days before the final act of this tragedy was played out. That day, Floria was asked if she was afraid of Robert, and when she responded that she was, the district manager turned to Robert to ask if she had any reason to fear him. After a moment, Robert replied “I will only hurt her if she hurts me”. Robert was just rated as “needing to improve in all areas”.

Case Study- Floria

Floria asked if either Robert or she might be transferred to another store. She reiterated that she was terrified of him and couldn’t work with him. The store manager assured her that “something would be done” and continue to work the old schedule “just for a few more days”. Floria agreed.

Case Study- Floria

The following day, Robert arrived at the usual time and went to his work-station. He spoke to no one and did not return the greetings extended by various employees. Shortly after his arrival, Robert received a telephone call from the district manager inquiring about personal long distance telephone calls made from work. Robert lost control and began to scream into the telephone. He slammed the telephone down, picked up a stool and smashed a computer to pieces. Floria and another employee walked quickly away from the area. Robert followed, seized Floria by the neck with his arm, drew the diminutive woman to him and shot her twice in the head at point blank range. Floria died instantly.