Seven steps to preventing workplace violence
Jun 1, 1999 12:00 PM, MARK BRAVERMAN
There may not be a murderer lurking in the next cubicle or at the loading dock, but just consider the overall effects of trying to work in an environment where conflict, threats and intimidation replace communication and cooperation. Homicides are only the tip of workplace violence iceberg, an iceberg which consists of domestic violence intruding into the workplace, inter-employee stalkings, workers at daily risk of armed robbery by criminals, abuse and threat by customers, and threats or harassment by superiors or coworkers. It is an issue that has little to do with arguments about statistics and everything to do with how the workplace can preserve itself as a humane, productive and stable institution in the face of the violence, desperation and upheaval happening in the world around it. This article will outline a process for preventing violence from disrupting your workplace, damaging the lives and health of your employees, and compromising your effectiveness as a manager. In the process, you will learn a great deal about the values of your company, the quality of your leadership team and the capacity of your organization to grow and change.
Step 1. Get support from the top. The entire process of developing a violence prevention capacity - from the risk audit, through team formation, to policy development, through training and implementation - can only be accomplished effectively with the visible support and participation of the top level of company (and union) leadership. The first indication of support is the assignment of a team to guide the process from design to initiation to ongoing implementation. The team must be composed of people in leadership positions who are empowered to make decisions. Implementing a successful violence prevention program also requires culture change, often of a profound nature. It will likely require alterations in such time-honored areas as labor relations, injury management and other human resource procedures. The best designed and conceived training program will fail to produce change in the absence of visible, tangible support from the highest levels.
Step 2. Form a teamThe workplace violence team is composed of stakeholders representing a range of functions, including health and safety, legal, human resources, labor relations/employee relations, employee assistance, union and operations. A high-ranking executive should be on the team, actively in the beginning, and then perhaps ex-officio once the program is launched.Once appointed, the team will begin by designing the audit process and then developing the policy. This team will thus grow and evolve along with the process, and maintain responsibility for the program over time. After the policy has been crafted and roles defined, the team, with its top management members, will design and take part in the training sessions. Once the program is under way, designated members will receive and process requests for assistance and reports of tension or threat. Over time, the group will continue to oversee the program and take responsibility for reviewing its effectiveness.
Step 3. Perform a workplace violence risk auditWorkplace violence comes in many forms. No two companies will face the same combination of threats from people outside of the workplace or from within. Furthermore, factors such as physical security setup, organizational structure and culture, and existing policies will affect the way employees are exposed to various risks. In order to craft a useful policy, therefore, you must determine your organizational violence risk profile. The results of a company-wide audit will provide data about past experience, current exposures, and possible warning signs. An audit can be structured in a variety of ways, but it should include components that will provide information on employee opinions and concerns, and on past experience with violence and conflict. This information can be obtained through some combination of written surveys, interviews, and groups. Focus groups, facilitated by outside consultants, tend to yield the fullest, most candid picture of employees' fears and vulnerabilities. Interviews with key people and records reviews will yield not only the frequency and kind of incidents, but the stories behinds these occurrences.In the audit, consider current policies and systems that relate to your violence prevention capability. You will see what policies are missing, and what existing structures and procedures may need to be modified.
Step 4. Develop policies and proceduresOnce your team has processed the information from the organizational audit, it can set about developing the policy. Sample policies are easy to come by, and they can help set out the basic form of the policy. The formula is simple and sensible. It differs little from a standard sexual harassment policy:- define workplace violence, - set out a zero tolerance standard and the range of specific consequences, - specify the reporting procedures, and - ensure safety and non-retaliation for reporters. It is up to the team to fill in the blanks with the specific list of behaviors and situations which will come under the policy as well as with the procedures that the company will follow.
Step 5. TrainingThe purpose of training is to ensure the implementation of the policy and the procedures that support it. It is not, as some assume, to give employees the ability to predict or spot danger. The policy is the heart of a system of coordinated response that depends on the participation of employees. It is essential that your people, especially your first line managers (and stewards if there is a union), provide the early notification that allows the system to function most effectively. The worst workplace violence cases begin with a manager failing to bring the situation to attention of people at the proper levels early enough. Individual managers, at any level, should not be making judgment calls about these issues. There should be a clear message that any possible warning signs must be reported so appropriate fact-finding and response can take place. In the process, a culture change begins to happen. You can't have an effective team response to workplace violence unless employees understand the importance of early reporting. At the same time, you can't require employees to report signs of trouble unless you have established a system that is reliable and safe. The primary goal of your training is to ensure that employees, at every level, are willing to make a phone call even when they are in doubt about what to do. They must learn that on the other end of that phone is a process that will take the decision-making and judgment calls off their shoulders and into the hands of a corporate-level team that will ensure fairness and safety for all involved. Employees at every level must understand that participation in this process is the correct - and required - thing to do whenever there is a question of violence or self harm.
Step 6. Provide easy, non-punitive access to medical and mental health expertiseIt is essential that the process of danger assessment and threat investigation not be tied to discipline or other administrative action, or to a standard work injury or health claim process. Standard procedures for assessing job-linked health conditions are not only inappropriate for handling threats or danger, they can be dangerous and destructive to the process itself. A threat of violence assessment has different goals than these standard occupational health activities. Whereas the purpose of a standard assessment is to determine if someone is fit to do his or her job, the goal here is to find out if someone is dangerous, and, if not, to determine the nature of the problem. The way the assessment is handled is perhaps the linchpin of the entire process of responding to a threat of violence. Failing to prepare for this step can subvert the entire process, bringing disastrous consequences
Step 7. Develop clear, common-sense policies and procedures for terminations and layoffsOften fears of workplace violence escalate when employers contemplate a layoff or a termination. The two events seem to be inextricably linked in the minds of managers: job loss equals violence. And there is wisdom in this connection. Each of us can easily associate losing one's job with our deepest fears: humiliation, isolation, loss of physical support. Since it is these fears and experiences that can indeed lead to severe breakdown and violence in some people, it is important to be prepared to handle these events wisely and carefully. The return of a fired employee to exact murderous revenge has become the symbol of Americans' fear of workplace violence, despite what statistics may tell us about the improbability of such an occurrence. This fear accurately represents the rage and insecurity that pervades a workplace in the throes of change and in a community struggling with economic contraction. One factor in particular increases the risk of violence or threat connected with a termination: the length of time that elapses between the actions that led to the termination and the termination itself. Believe it or not, this period is often years, and it is a major risk factor
The policies governing threatening and violent behavior must be specific, clear and consistently applied, and all actions must be carefully documented. When there is a reported threat, you should be able to open a file and see if there is a record of previous actions taken in response to behaviors in violation of the zero tolerance policy or other rules pertaining to conduct, safety or health. If, in the course of your response to an incidence of unacceptable behavior, your investigation turns up information relevant to violence risk, (e.g., a history of violence, problems with alcohol, or experience with and ownership of weapons), this can now properly, usefully and legally become the basis for any action. It is not a good idea to drag this process out. The unrelenting forces of organizational change affecting virtually all industrial sectors requires that corporate leaders adopt a deliberate, focused approach to violence prevention. To be fully prepared for the special risks that accompany organizational change - layoffs, for example - leaders must take action in three areas:- communication. Leaders must be prepared to visibly and actively communicate with employees on a continual basis. Communication includes listening and responding to concerns, not just delivering scripted messages.- an organizational transition team. It is best that a team of leaders - performing functions such as human resources, security, safety and health and employee assistance - be tasked with monitoring the health of the organization throughout the transition period. This team, its finger constantly to the wind, will be able to respond to needs and crises emerging from the organization on an ongoing basis.- safety nets. The actions of a transition team, together with the assurance of continual two-way communication, will provide a safety net for an organization experiencing the stress of change. It is to be expected that workgroups and individuals will show signs of stress and occasional breakdown. Concerns about threats and violent climate will surface if there is a listening ear and a reliable response procedure about the authorThis article is an excerpt from the new book Preventing Workplace Violence: A Guide For Employers and Practitioners, just published by Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, Calif. Reprinted with permission.Email: order@sagepub.com. The author, Mark Braverman, is a pioneer in the field of traumatic stress in the workplace. Braverman has lectured, trained and consulted widely to businesses, federal and state agencies, and academic and professional groups nationally and internationally. He can be reached in care of his company, CMG Associate s, at 617-969-7600. His Web site is www.cmgassociates.com.
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