Combating Workplace Violence

Today the threat of violence impacting worker safety and business operations is a major concern. It is crucial that thoughtful violence prevention policies and supporting violence response plans be developed before any incidents occur in order to properly prepare to use, respond, engage, and react appropriately. Once violence begins or ends is not good enough. The threats are real, and the risks must be managed. A violent threat from a current or former employee, domestic violence or relationship violence spillovers, and the threat posed by criminals committing crimes against people and property are concerns for which all organizations must prepare. Incident avoidance is not acceptable – indeed, most likely not possible. Our job is to make it manageable. This book, Combating Workplace Violence, provides a basic understanding of workplace violence as well as prevention policy and plan development in nontechnical terms. The key to the successful development and implementation of a w+orkplace prevention policy is the collaborative proactive leadership of company executives and management and the assistance of a qualified, reputable consultant. While the information and tools contained here are designed to serve as a baseline for any organization’s solution to workplace violence, the material is useful to inform and educate any member of an organization. The unique framework (V-REEL®) for analyzing the organization’s internal environment to determine what can be done to try to eradicate or reduce workplace violence is especially useful. Ancillaries following each chapter provide additional information and tools to assist your planning. We envision this book being used to inform managers, human resource professionals, workers, and academics in all types of organizations. Hopefully, using the material and framework of this book, more organizations will develop policies, procedures, and practices to prevent workplace violence. ENDORSEMENTS: "This book is a must-read for business leaders and threat assessment professionals. Felix Nater shares his years of experience and expertise on a very difficult and dynamic topic and delivers a comprehensive guide to identify, assess, and mitigate workplace violence hazards. Felix highlights why workplace violence prevention is a shared responsibility across the entire organization and that successful programs are championed from the top down. This book will help any organization create a culture of workplace violence awareness and instill employee confidence in leadership to provide a safe and secure work environment." — Gary Thompson, County of Santa Barbara, California "This book should be required reading for all company executives. Felix’s insights on workplace environment disciplines are integral in demonstrating employee commitment from the top down. Fortunately, I have had experience working with Felix in a yeoman capacity where we learned from each other. Felix articulates employee commitment through well-structured practices. I highly recommend his approach provided in this book. The authors are on target. I’m also proud to have his valued friendship." — Thomas Rosati, U.S. Postal Service, Suffolk County, NY. "This book explores the enterprise approach to preparing and responding to violence in the workplace, in a way few have attempted to tackle. As a co-author, my familiarity with Felix Nater’s depth of knowledge in the subject shines bright through each chapter. This book is a must-read for Physical Security, Human Resources, General Council, all the way to the C-Suite." — William Davis, The Carolinas. "This book captures the realities facing the workforce in a Post Covid-19 world. 'Today,' unlike any previous time in history, the workforce has work options that increase workforce security considerations. It is precisely here that so many of us get stuck. Having a thought process drives the discussion in protecting an organization, beyond the physical security 'gates, guns, and guards' mentality that characterizes most safety and security programs. Felix Nater, and his co-author capture, and document what is needed in creating a sound workplace violence program. You will learn to empower your team with this no-nonsense guide to eliminating excuses and speaking the truth about workplace violence within the workforce workplace environments." — Victor Hayghe, Health Care Industry

This ILO code of practice sets out guidance on practical responses to deal with violence at work in the services sectors in both public and private services. It was drawn up by an expert meeting, held in Geneva in October 2003, which included representatives nominated by governments, employers and workers. The Code identifies the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders involved, and promotes a proactive approach to prevention of workplace violence, based on occupational safety and health management systems.

Preventing Workplace Violence: A Training Guide for Managers and Supervisors is a video presentation. Length: 25 minutes. In Preventing Workplace Violence: A Training Guide for Managers and Supervisors, presenter Rosalind W. Jackson provides the fundamentals of workplace violence prevention, including initial program development. This presentation explains the components needed to develop a good baseline program, and focuses on recognizing patterns of unacceptable behavior. It addresses policy development and expert consultation considerations, along with the use of education and team coordination. The presentation also includes a sample workplace violence policy statement, and discusses the impact of workplace violence on the business. Preventing Workplace Violence: A Training Guide for Managers and Supervisors is a part of Elsevier’s Security Executive Council Risk Management Portfolio, a collection of real world solutions and "how-to" guidelines that equip executives, practitioners, and educators with proven information for successful security and risk management programs. The 25-minute, visual PowerPoint presentation with audio narration format is excellent for group learning Designed for those in the process of implementing or updating a workplace violence prevention program Emphasizes a business-wide, team approach to minimize additional costs and ensure coordination

This book, through an examination of a number of representative real world cases, provides a detailed look at what happened to some companies and traditional tools for occupational health and safety, discipline, and employee relations now used by business and labour leaders are inadequate and inappropriate in responding to the problems of workplace violence. In fact, the methods and approaches commonly in use actually worsen the problem in some cases. The book summarizes the most up-to-date learning in this area and offers practical guidance and recommendations for assessing the risk of violence, steps for preventing workplace violence, and a through discussion of employees rights and employer's responsib

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management presents the full text of a handbook entitled "Dealing with Workplace Violence: A Guide for Agency Planners," published in 1998. The handbook discusses how to establish workplace violence initiatives. The handbook covers the basic steps of program development, case studies, threat assessment, considerations of employee relations and the employee assistance program, workplace security, and organizational recovery after an incident.

Workplace violence is one of today's most serious occupational hazards. This practical guide offers valuable information on how to systematically design and develop workplace prevention programs and policies. The book approaches the issue from two fronts. First, it demonstrates how workplace violence can be prevented by examining how organizations and groups are handling the problem. It reviews an array of existing guidelines and policies developed by governments, trade unions, special study groups, workplace violence experts, employers' groups, and specific industries and generates a useful survey of best practice strategies. Second, the guide outlines in detail a reliable and effective methodology for developing workplace violence prevention programs which includes: assessing and describing risk; designing, implementing, and monitoring preventive and reactive measures; and reviewing the risk management process. Every worker deserves a safe and secure environment and violence should not be accepted as part of any job. This book presents concrete guidance for combating violence in the workplace while also providing a wider understanding of the factors and conditions that contribute to it.

The American Psychiatric Foundation Manfred Guttmacher Award Winner for 2012. Workplace Violence in Mental and General Health Settings provides clinicians, health care administrators, law enforcement professionals and educators with an easily accessible, cross-disciplinary approach to preventing and controlling violence in the workplace. This book condenses the vast literature available on workplace violence and renders it operational—allowing readers to rapidly digest important concepts and put them into action in real-world settings. Workplace Violence in Mental and General Health Settings draws on knowledge from fields beyond medicine to provide a comprehensive resource on everything from organizational and emergency room violence to self-defense techniques for the health care professional. More than any other, this book guides the reader from theory to practical application of prevention and management methods in the workplace. Key Features: - An explanation of violence terminology to enhance readability - New information on how workplace violence affects quality of care - Steps to manage high-volume emergency room violence - Specific training protocol to prevent workplace violence - A free CD-Rom containing sample workplace violence guidelines, powerpoints, internet links and more

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines workplace violence as “violent acts (including physical assaults and threats of assaults) directed toward persons at work or on duty.” This includes terrorism as illustrated by the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001 that resulted in the deaths of 2,886 workers in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Although these guidelines do not address terrorism specifically, this type of violence remains a threat to U.S. workplaces. For many years, health care and social service workers have faced a significant risk of job-related violence. Assaults represent a serious safety and health hazard within these industries. OSHA's violence prevention guidelines provide the agency's recommendations for reducing workplace violence, developed following a careful review of workplace violence studies, public and private violence prevention programs and input from stakeholders. OSHA encourages employers to establish violence prevention programs and to track their progress in reducing work-related assaults. Although not every incident can be prevented, many can, and the severity of injuries sustained by employees can be reduced. Adopting practical measures such as those outlined here can significantly reduce this serious threat to worker safety. In January 1989, OSHA published voluntary, generic safety and health program management guidelines for all employers to use as a foundation for their safety and health programs, which can include workplace violence prevention programs. OSHA's violence prevention guidelines build on these generic guidelines by identifying common risk factors and describing some feasible solutions. Although not exhaustive, the workplace violence guidelines include policy recommendations and practical corrective methods to help prevent and mitigate the effects of workplace violence. The goal is to eliminate or reduce worker exposure to conditions that lead to death or injury from violence by implementing effective security devices and administrative work practices, among other control measures. The guidelines cover a broad spectrum of workers who provide health care and social services in psychiatric facilities, hospital emergency departments, community mental health clinics, drug abuse treatment clinics, pharmacies, community-care facilities and long-term care facilities. They include physicians, registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physicians' assistants, nurses' aides, therapists, technicians, public health nurses, home health care workers, social workers, welfare workers and emergency medical care personnel. The guidelines may also be useful in reducing risks for ancillary personnel such as maintenance, dietary, clerical and security staff in the health care and social service industries.