Violence Issues Unresolved for Many Companies

Sep 1, 2004 12:00 PM

A recent follow-up survey by the American Society of Safety Engineers' (ASSE) has found that many companies and organizations in all industries have yet to address the problem of workplace violence.

Concerned about the threat of violence in the workplace, the ASSE Risk Management/Insurance Practice Specialty group surveyed ASSE members in 1999 on what was being done to address violence in their workplace. The survey found that although the number of violent incidents in the respondents' workplaces stayed the same, employees remained concerned, and 70 percent of those surveyed said their organization had not undergone a formal risk assessment of the potential for violent acts.

The follow-up survey of ASSE members done this past spring titled “ASSE 2004 Workplace Violence Survey & White Paper” found that, surprisingly, not much had changed. As a matter of fact, a new question included in the benchmark survey asked ‘As a direct result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks or the subsequent anthrax scare, has your organization implemented any of the following — established or revised security policy (56 percent said yes); changed emergency procedures (44 percent said yes); increased employee contact, training and discussions on the topic (34 percent said yes); or, made no changes in their organization (18 percent said yes).

Another unexpected finding from the survey is that there was no change from the 1999 survey in response to whether respondents' companies had provided training on how to identify the warning signs of violent behavior — 58 percent said yes and 42 percent said no.

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