In 1995, the Workplace Violence Research Institute found that: “Every workday, an estimated 16,400 threats are made, 723 workers are attacked, and 43,800 are harassed.”
That’s a lot of violence. Most of it isn’t dramatic cable-news-coverage stuff, but none of it makes for a better workplace. When violence is part of the working environment, productivity and morale both drop.
Your first line of defense is to hire smart, do your criminal checks, check references, and use other employment screening tools. Watch for things in a person’s past that might indicate trouble ahead. This can also help prevent a negligent hiring lawsuit if bad things happen later.
But even so, a great deal of workplace violence doesn’t come from people with a police record or a history of violence. It comes from people who are frustrated and angry and bring that anger to work with them. So part of your task is to spot potential problems early.
Dawn Kubik is an attorney with Mountain States Employers Council Inc. in Colorado Springs. She’s written an excellent piece in the Colorado Springs Business Journal called Minimizing the cost of violence in the workplace. She includes a list of warning signs.
- Attack behavior (threats/intimidation/bullying)
- History of violence
- Poor impulse control
- Lack of personal support systems
- Sense of injustice — desire to get even
- Substance abuse
- Obsession with another person
- Mental illness
- Preoccupation with violence/weapons
Don’t just watch for these things yourself. Enlist the help of your supervisors and workers.
When you’re working next to a person day after day, you know right away if they’re suddenly angry or depressed. That’s why workers should be your first line of awareness of potential workplace violence. Tell them what to watch for.
Give them tools to let you know. Allow employees to let you know anonymously if someone has started acting strange or abusive.
Make sure you have both prevention and discipline programs in place. Become familiar with possible help that the Employee Assistance Program in your benefits package can offer. Learn what your options are.
Criminal background checks are useless and discriminatory. Look at all the postal workers who shot and killed their co workers. All had criminal background checks before being hired. Look at Timothy McVeigh, – he also had a background check done before going into service.
There is a definite escalation in violence experienced by emergency service staff. It is of great concern to the UK Government’s National Health Service.