It can be gleaned from above scenario that violence can be a significant workplace hazard. It may cause physical and psychological harm and may result in permanent disability and even death to the person
Workplace violence could translate to direct and indirect costs for the organization.
Aside from the financial costs incurred due to absenteeism, lost productivity, more insurance premiums, medical expenses and mending damage to property, a more serious cost comes in the form of emotional trauma experienced by the victims and their families.
The reaction of individuals depends to a large extent on the nature of the incident, the workers, own experiences, skills and personality, and the extent to which they are directly or indirectly involved. Some common reactions associated with workplace violence are:
- Body changes brought about by distress, such as palpitation, increased breathing rate, muscle tension and nausea
- Rage, dissent and frustration
- Feelings of not in control
- Anxiety and shock
- ?Guilt and embarrassment
- Irritability and inability to concentrate
- ?Sleeplessness and nightmares after the event
- ?Fear of going back to the workplace
It is vital to know these signs/reactions immediately after the violent event to prevent the situation from becoming worse.
How to Manage Workplace Violence
It is necessary to develop strategies in coping with workplace violence for each of the three phases: before, during and after, an event.
D.Prevention
After taking a wide consideration and a broad research on the instigators, causes and effects of workplace violence at my job side, I decided to focus on how we can prevent workplace violence from occurring and avoid all these death and costs it brings to our businesses and organizations.
Considering the results of several studies conducted on workplace violence, it is noted that rash decisions and sudden reactions lead to more grave consequences and sufferings. Workplace violence could lead to injuries, pain and worse, death, if not addressed. The best solution to workplace violence is prevention. Preventing before it occurs. Or, in curbing tendencies and circumstances that instigate workplace violence.
Having a reliable prevention plan in place is the most important action that a company could undertake. It is also the least expensive part any agency's workplace violence program (OSHA, 2006).
A documented plan designed to pro-actively manage violence at work should be prepared with the help of the workers and representatives from health and safety. The following Steps must form part of an effective WorkplaceViolence Management Plan:
Hazard identification: This step requires identifying situations that may subject workers and visitors to the workplace to workplace violence.
Step 1: How to identify hazards
It is difficult to know the reason for a violent outburst, but there are common factors applicable to a workplace. Violence at work may occur due to:
- Criminal activity, seeking for thrill or revenge
- Mentally unstable
- Use of alcohol or drugs
- To express irritation or frustration
- Being aggrieved because of unjust treatment, whether real or imagined
- To use intimidation in achieving a desired result
- Built-up anger from other issues not necessarily related to work
- Physical conditions that provide discomfort to the employee
- Culture of the workplace which encourages violent behavior such as intimidation, initiation ceremonies, harassment, etc
- Feelings of lack of control
- Discrimination such as cultural, religious, political and others
Personal and environmental factors often come into play which demands that different strategies be adopted to deal with the risk of violence. Identifying the cause for the potential violence and addressing it could greatly reduce violence and aggressive behavior.
The following are effective sources of information to identify these causes of violence in workplaces:
- Communicate to people who have experience with workplace violence in your industry
- Have open channels of communication with workers particularly their concerns on workplace violence
- Conduct a survey in confidence among workers ton inquire about any incidents that have caused irritation and any situations that may be potentially violent (near misses)
- Collect data on the risks of violence in workplaces similar to yours
- Check reports on accident and injury to identify past incidents
- Monitor work practices and inspect the workplace where there is potential for violence
- Create a system that encourages workers to report violent incidents
A checklist (please see sample below) is an effective method in carrying out the identification process.
Inspections on the workplace should be done by several persons to allow varied interpretation of risk.
At this point, it is not important to take steps or determine the action to be taken. The focus is to identify situations where violence could occur to be able to examine the situation in greater detail. However, if something needs to be done then it should be carried out immediately upon informing the people concerned.
Risk assessment: Assess violent situations which could cause injury or harm to workers and visitors, and determine the possible extent of the injuries or harm.
