Violence in the workplace

Violence in the workplace has become more prominent in the national news in recent years. Whether disgruntled former employees who return to exact revenge on a company or unhappy domestic partners, there has been an upswing in the number of individuals who are taking their personal grievances public through violence on the job. The federal government offers few guidelines and even fewer regulations which might protect employees in the workplace; state gun control laws vary widely and often make it possible (and legal) for employees to carry weapons while on the job. Increasingly, companies are turning to their own policies and procedures regarding workplace safety in order to protect themselves and their employees. This research examines violence in the workplace, including the regulatory environment and steps which companies can use to prevent violence.

Few employers can ignore the issue of violence in the workplace. Between 1980 and 1993, more than 1,000 individuals were killed each year on the job. More than two million workers reported being physically attacked on the job in 1992; medical costs associated with these attacks totaled more than $13.5 billion. Violence in the workplace, which can be broadly defined to include threats, harassment and physical attacks, may affect as many as onequarter of American workers (Bowman and Zigmond, 1997, p. 289). The issue has, in short, significant costs to society both in direct monetary ou

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nstruction on how to manage their employees in a participative manner can help minimize or eliminate the threat of violence from a disgruntled employee (O'Donovan, 1997, p. 29). It is important to note that most episodes of workplace violence do not occur spontaneously. Instead, there are typically some warning signs which become quite clear in hindsight, but which may have provided adequate advance notice if companies knew what to look for (Brandman, 1997, p. 87). A violence prevention plan should be an integral part of the company's human resource program, and should not simply be an isolated document. Since warning signs can indicate that a particular individual may be predisposed to violence, or may be heading toward a violent episode, companies should have a plan in place which can help these individuals be identified. Such identification makes intervention possible; intervention may stave off a violent incident (Slage, 1997, p. 15). A violence prevention plan should include: preemployment screening; preemployment and "probably cause" drug and alcohol testing; training for management and employees to recognize warning signs among workers; training for managers in participative leadership; training for all employees

Category: Business - V