Keys to preventing workplace violence incidents

When it comes to violence in the workplace, no company is immune. Workplace violence involves some type of intimidating behavior that leads to an act of aggression. However, there are several red flags to help managers and co-workers identify dangerous behaviors before they escalate.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2019, 20,870 private industry workers experienced some sort of trauma from non-fatal workplace incidents. Of those individuals, 68% were female and 65% were aged 25-54. Sadly, 70% of them worked in the healthcare and social assistance industries, with 41% of nurses experiencing bullying, incivility or other acts of workplace violence. According to Forbes, workplace violence causes businesses to lose $250-330 billion a year.

In addition to nurses, other occupations most likely to experience workplace violence are teachers, veterinarians, bank employees, and taxi and transit drivers.

Kimberly Olszewski director of provider and client services at DISA Global Solutions, Inc. says several indicators can warn employers there may be a problem with an employee. If these behaviors are identified early, they can often be managed or treated. These can include:

• Mental health and substance abuse issues that escalate
• An unhappy workplace bully who becomes aggressive
• Disgruntled employees who are looking for an opportunity to “get back” at an employer
• Individuals who feel like they have nothing left to lose due to a major personal (e.g., divorce) or professional (e.g., overlooked for a promotion or fired) loss
• Signs of depression or withdrawal
• Explosive outbursts of anger without provocation
• Suicidal comments – e.g., putting things in order
• A noticeable decrease in attention to appearance
• An increased interest in firearms or violent incidents
• Cyberbullying – e.g., texts, offensive emails

Olszewski says that certain times of the year or specific events can also create an increase in stress and workplace violence. These can include the holidays, tax time, payday, the repossession of a car, having utilities cut off at home or even when report cards come out.

Defining workplace violence

The National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) has identified four specific types of workplace violence.

1. Type 1: Criminal intent generally encompasses perpetrators who have no specific relationship with an employer or its employees. Examples include shoplifting, robbery or mobs of individuals who rob retailers. Acts of terrorism would also fall into this category.
2. Type 2: Customer/client violence tends to occur when there is a relationship between the individuals such as a teacher/student, nurse/patient or a customer/client.
3. Type 3: Worker-on-worker or lateral violence can involve a current or former worker who makes threats against other employees or managers in the workplace.
4. Type 4: Personal relationship violence in the workplace generally occurs when the perpetrator has a personal relationship with an employee of the company rather than with the business itself. An example would be a nurse who is shot by an ex-spouse.

Prevention strategies

OSHA provides several resources for employers to help them identify and mitigate workplace risks based on the type of business they operate. When it comes to creating an effective workplace violence prevention program, there are seven elements to consider.

1. Have a clearly written workplace violence policy statement. This should be accessible to all employees and identify what constitutes unacceptable behavior.
2. Establish a threat assessment team to help identify risks and processes for addressing violent incidents or behaviors. Team members can include hospital administration, a safety professional, frontline staff, union representatives, security personnel, legal professionals and representatives from human resources.
3. Conduct a hazard assessment. This includes identifying weak points and issues that need to be addressed as part of the plan.
4. Implement workplace hazard control and prevention strategies. Based on the hazard assessment, these may include employee I.D. cards, internal communications systems, specific security procedures, employee training and awareness, and assistance programs to address domestic violence at home.
5. Training and education are critical and there are several practical tools available online for employers.
6. Create procedures for incident reporting, investigation, follow-up and evaluation, and ensure employees know who to contact for different types of concerns.
7. Recordkeeping includes capturing incidents of abuse, training logs, minutes of safety meetings, insurance records, employee questionnaires, and workers’ comp records.

While it is impossible to prevent every incident of workplace violence, by analyzing the risks, creating a supportive environment, offering communication and empathy training, establishing a clear workplace violence policy, training employees to recognize the signs, and creating an action plan that everyone in can access will help mitigate the risks and improve the outcome should an incident occur.

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• States with the most work fatalities
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