Roland: There is a considerable amount of observation, analysis, publishing and training taking place around workplace violence. Although most of the information below is not new on the topic, I thought the FBI report that was published in the first quarter of this year had an interesting table describing the various “buckets” of workplace violence.

Behaviors of concern can help workers recognize potential problems with fellow employees. If a co-worker begins acting differently, determining the frequency, duration, and intensity of the new, and possibly troubling, behavior can prove helpful. Specific behaviors of concern that should increase vigilance for co-workers and supervisors include sadness, depression, threats, menacing or erratic behavior, aggressive outbursts, references to weaponry, verbal abuse, inability to handle criticism, hypersensitivity to perceived slights, and offensive commentary or jokes referring to violence.

Type I
Offender has no relationship with the victim or workplace establishment. In these incidents, the motive most often is robbery or another type of crime.

Type II
Offender currently receives services from the workplace, often as a customer, client, patient, student, or other type of consumer.

Type III
Offender is either a current or former employee who is acting out toward co-workers, managers, or supervisors.

Type IV
Offender is not employed at the workplace, but has a personal relationship with an employee. Often, these incidents are due to domestic disagreements between an employee and the offender.

Roland: One thread that is consistent with respect to workplace violence is training. When workplace violence happens to you, how are you going to REACT? If you have received no training, you will end up in a state of denial and be unable to react. If you have been trained, you will see choices and opportunities to help eliminate or mitigate the situation. Below is the FBI’s views on training.

The disparities in responses between those who have and those who have not been trained to deal with these types of stressful situations. Both groups initially react by being startled and experiencing fear. Then, they begin to diverge: the untrained panic, whereas the trained experience controllable anxiety. From that point on, the trained group members begin to recall what they should do next, prepare, and act. The untrained, however, experience disbelief that eventually leads to denial and, ultimately, helplessness. Knowing how differently the groups will react based solely on training underscores the importance of advanced preparation.

What are the common triggering agents for workplace violence? The State of Connecticut, in their Violence in the Workplace: Policy and Procedures Manual (June 2007) , outline the most common triggering agents associated with workplace violence.

There are multiple issues that may trigger workplace violence. These tend to fall into two categories: employee issues and workplace issues. In terms of employee issues, the following events are potential “triggers.”

1. Negative performance review,
2. Unwelcome change in role due to performance or reorganization issue,
3. Criticism of performance,
4. Conflict with co-worker or supervisor,
5. Personal stress outside the workplace,
6. Increased workload or pressure (e.g. deadlines, projects, etc.)

In addition, certain workplace [issues] may contribute to an atmosphere which makes the occurrence of workplace violence more likely. These include:

1. No clearly defined rules of conduct,
2. Lack of training,
3. Inadequate hiring practices/screening of potential employees,
4. Insufficient supervision,
5. Lack of discipline or inconsistent discipline in workplace,
6. No or inadequate employee support systems,
7. Failure to address incidents as they occur,
8. Overly authoritarian management style.

Experts agree that three key elements that may prevent a potentially violent situation from occurring are:

– recognizing the early warning signs (often there is a change in a persons behavior preceding an episode of violence),
– recognizing issues or events that may trigger violence, and
– intervening early to prevent a violent incident from occurring

SAM Training is specifically designed to address the three key elements above. The curriculum takes you through the EARLY WARNING SIGNS, understanding context in combination with the early warning signs and ultimately how to address a potentially violent situation early to defuse and assist a disgruntled/troubled worker. SAM can provide the important training to your personnel to help eliminate workplace violence.

For any organization, workplace violence can be a significant economic liability and a public relations disaster waiting to happen. Unless proper steps, including a detailed risk assessment, are taken and documented to ensure the safety of your employees, you could be faced with lawsuits, potential loss of life and a damaged corporate/organizational image.

According to the Society of Human Resource Management, nearly 2/3s of Human Resource professionals state that there has been some type of workplace violence at their corporation/organization within the last three years. The distribution of workplace violence incidents is as follows:

- 54% : Inappropriate language
- 13% : Verbal abuse
- 7% : Verbal threats of violence
- 6% : Sexual harassment
- 5% : Burglary
- 4% : Pushing/Shoving
- 3% : Fistfight
- 2% : Threatening emails received by employees
- 2% : Stalking
- 1% : Robbery (holdup)
- 1% : Threatening emails send by employees
- 1% : Bomb threat

Each year, approximately 2 million workers are victims of workplace violence in the United States, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Yet, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost 9% of businesses reporting an incident had no program or policy in place to address workplace violence. Employers should understand the potential risks of a (violent) event in the workplace, develop a plan to respond to such an event, and know how to mitigate the loss they might experience.

SAM has a training program to address Workplace Violence. Once you have completed your internal risk assessment, please contact SAM. We will assist you in addressing any training needs to make sure your workplace violence policy is in compliance.