Everyone knows that violence in the workplace is a serious safety and health issue. The most extreme manifestation of workplace violence—homicide—was the third-leading cause of fatal occupational injury in this country last year. Today we look at what OSHA and others say you should do to safeguard your workers.
There are no specific OSHA standards for workplace violence. However, the so-called “General Duty Clause” of the OSH Act requires employers to provide workers with a place of employment that is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
If you think you can’t be cited for an incident of workplace violence, think again. Back in 1992, OSHA announced a policy (via a standard interpretation) that said:
“In a workplace where the risk of violence and serious personal injury are significant enough to be ‘recognized hazards,’ the general duty clause would require the employer to take feasible steps to minimize those risks. Failure of an employer to implement feasible means of abatement of these hazards could result in the finding of an OSH Act violation.”
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One of the most effective ways to minimize workplace violence is to try to head it off before it begins. Ideally, prevention should start during the hiring stage. A white paper on our sister website, Safety.BLR.com, provides advice from W. Barry Nixon, executive director of a consulting group known as the National Institute for Prevention of Workplace Violence, based in Orange County, California.
Nixon recommends that employers ask questions during job interviews that can help reveal the potential for violence. Those might include:
- Are there any full-time, regular positions you have held in the past 5 years that have been omitted from the application?
- Have you ever been disciplined or discharged for fighting with, injuring, or harassing another individual or for violent conduct while working?
- Describe something in your work experience that demonstrates your ability to handle stressful situations.
- Describe a situation you have encountered in which a conflict arose and how you handled it.
- Describe your last two or three performance reviews, including accomplishments and areas needing development.
- Describe a situation in which you confronted a co-worker or supervisor and how you handled it.
- Describe a situation in which you got angry and how you responded.
- When you encounter argumentative or hard-to-deal-with people, what do you do?
- How do you feel when someone intimidates you?
- How would you handle a supervisor who approaches you in front of co-workers and belittles you?
- What types of people do you have the most trouble getting along with?
- Describe a situation in which you felt you were treated unfairly and how you handled it.
- What are some of your hot buttons that tick you off?
- What has a supervisor done that made you angry?
Nixon says he helps clients understand how to ask and follow up on these and other questions to get a more complete view of a candidate.
Too many employers get into a cycle of trouble by ignoring early warning signs, Nixon says. “The earlier you start, the more likely you are to prevent an escalation to violence. When a threat is made is the time to intervene, address it, and see if there are larger issues. If, for example, you see that bullying is going on, intercede.” A well-developed program of employee relations is key to knowing what’s going on with your workforce and where pockets of potential trouble may lie, he suggests.
Warning signs can include strange or bizarre behavior, an obsessive attitude toward work, altercations with co-workers, paranoid or very strong reactions to normal announcements and changes, an inability to accept routine feedback, and an unusual interest in the killing power of weapons.
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In every violent episode there is an individual who has accepted psychologically that violence is an acceptable way to deal with situations. And a stressful event, such as an argument at home or a job demotion, can trigger the violence.
Tomorrow we’ll focus in on violence that occurs as employees are arriving at or leaving work, and at how you can help protect them during that riskiest part of their work day—the trip to and from work.
I am glad to see Chris Kilbourne’s article on Workplace Violence quote W. Barry Nixon on workplace bullying: “If, for example, you see that bullying is going on, intercede.” This is a topic worthy of further discussion. I have seen verbal abuse prompt fist fights on the job, but even when it does not lead to physical violence, it erodes employee morale, productivity, and company loyalty. Consequently, it seems likely to lead to reduced attention to safety in the workplace.
An FBI paper on Workplace Violence says: “It is the threats, harassment, bullying, domestic violence, stalking, emotional abuse, intimidation, and other forms of behavior and physical violence that, if left unchecked, may result in more serious violent behavior.” (See http://www.fbi.gov/publications/violence.pdf.)