Introduction
Workplace violence can be defined as a threat of violence towards workers. It can take place outside or within the workplace. It includes various threats ranging from verbal abuse, physical attacks and murder. Examples of these threats or violence include threatening disruptive taking place in the work area, intimidation, and harassment among others. Multiple studies have shown that one of the leading causes of work-related deaths is workplace violence. It is becoming an increasing concern for both employees and employers across the nation of the United States ( Rugala, Casteel, Bixler & Holbrook, 2018). This paper seeks to discuss the current situation of workplace violence, statement of problem, issues addressed, analysis of issues, and addressing the problems associated with workplace violence.
Current Situation
Evidence indicate that approximately 2 million workers in the U.S are victims of workplace violence on an annual basis. Everybody in the workplace is vulnerable to workplace violence because it can occur anywhere and thus no one is immune to it. However, some workers are at an increased risk to workplace violence than others. These include those working in community settings or high crime areas, and homes where they have wide contact with the public. This category include community workers like water and gas utility employees, taxi drivers, retail workers, letter carriers, cable TV and phone installers, and the social service and health-care workers including probation officers, psychiatric evaluators, and visiting nurses. Also, workers working in early morning or late night, those working in small groups or alone, those delivering services, goods, and passengers, and those who exchange money with the public ( Gadegaard, Andersen & Hogh, 2018).
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Analysis of Issues
Workplace violence incidents are broad and range from robbery or theft to terrorist attack that adversely affects the organization. It is crucial for the employer to have understanding of what workplace violence involves. There are five types of workplace violence including ideological, domestic, worker-to-worker, customer/client, and criminal intent violence. The ideological violence involves attacking the organization and the staff for political, religious, or ideological reasons. This type of violence is executed by value-driven groups and extremists based on their beliefs. Active shooter incidents have become one of the most impactful type of violence in the contemporary society. Domestic violence involves incidents executed generally by a former or current employee. The facilitating factor in such a situation is often work-related or interpersonal traumas, losses, or conflicts, and this usually involves spouses. The third workplace violence incident is the worker-to-worker violence, which is facilitated by a former or current employee and may be promoted by interpersonal or work-related conflicts. The people at high risk of this type of violence include supervisors and managers. A client or a customer facilitates customer/Client workplace violence and the violence is often take place in connection with the normal duties of staff members. Occupations that are at high risks of customer/client workplace violence include social service workers as well as healthcare workers. Criminal intent workplace violence generally involves incidents of trespassing, shoplifting, or robbery that turns into violence. In most cases, there exists no relationship between the perpetrator and the targeted person or establishment and the major motivator is theft ( Gadegaard, Andersen & Hogh, 2018). Therefore, these issues pose threat to both employers and employees thus making the workplace unsafe.
Addressing the Problems
In addressing the workplace violence problem, the employers can develop a zero-tolerance policy for employees to protect them against attacks from fellow employees or by their employers. Establishing a workplace prevention program is critical in protecting employees against threats of violence. In addition, the employer can incorporate information on workplace violence into the existing manual of standard operating procedures, employee handbook, or the accident prevention program. It is important for all employees to have knowledge regarding the policy and have comprehension that workplace violence claims will be inspected and addressed immediately. Moreover, employers can protect employees by establishing procedures and policies covering visits by home health-care professionals, and provide employees with information not to access areas that they feel unsafe. Also, employers provide field staff with hand-held alarms and cellular phones and instruct them to create a daily work plan, provide a cash register to limit the amount of cash on hand thus securing the workplace. Furthermore, employers should offer safety education to employees to enable them understand what conduct is acceptable and what is not acceptable and steps they can take if they are subjected to or witness workplace violence ( Copeland & Henry, 2017).
Employees can protect themselves from workplace violence by learning how to identify, prevent, or resolve violent situations by being part of the personal safety training programs. Additionally, employees should avoid travelling alone to places that are unfamiliar to them; they should carry the necessary identification when accessing community settings, and carry minimal money. Moreover, they should alert supervisors about any concerns regarding security or safety and report of any workplace violence incidents immediately. Employers should encourage employees to report cases of workplace violence threats promptly and offer them information about the legal rights of victims to prosecute perpetrators ( Copeland & Henry, 2017).
Conclusion
Workplace violence is becoming an increasing problem in the contemporary society in the United States. Workers are susceptible to workplace violence and this exposes them to verbal and physical attacks, which others might result to death. It is crucial for employers to establish a violence prevention plan that to help prevent incidents of workplace violence. Moreover, employees can protect themselves from workplace violence threats by participating in personal safety training programs in order to learn how to recognize, avoid, and address the violent incidents. Therefore, having this knowledge would help to minimize cases of workplace violence.
References
Copeland, D., & Henry, M. (2017). Workplace violence and perceptions of safety among emergency department staff members: experiences, expectations, tolerance, reporting, and recommendations. Journal of trauma nursing , 24 (2), 65-77.
Gadegaard, C. A., Andersen, L. P., & Hogh, A. (2018). Effects of violence prevention behavior on exposure to workplace violence and threats: a follow-up study. Journal of interpersonal violence , 33 (7), 1096-1117.
Rugala, E. A., Casteel, C., Bixler, D. E., & Holbrook, C. M. (2018). Introduction: What Is Workplace Violence?. In Workplace Violence (pp. 19-24). Routledge.
