Although overall rates of workplace violence have declined in the past decade, homicides associated with customers and clients have increased. Employees who deal with the public are especially at risk.
Johnny Lee, founder of Peace at Work, a nonprofit organization that focuses on violence prevention "in and through the workplace," notes a growing risk for those who serve the public, including employees in social services, health care, retail, and government.
For example, in the 10-year period between 1997 and 2007, homicides associated with customers and clients increased from 25 in 1997 to 74 in 2007. That’s an increase of nearly 200 percent!
Many work-related homicides are associated with robbery. However, there are other scenarios as well, such as the 29-year-old retail employee who was shot and killed by a customer dissatisfied about a clothing purchase. Then there are the numerous employees over the years who have been gunned down in the workplace by disgruntled co-workers or former employees.
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Concerned about this trend, Johnny Lee invented an electronic panic button that can send e-mail alerts from a worker’s computer. The ePanic Button is a software program he developed that allows workers to call for help if they are confronted by a threatening or violent individual.
An employee in trouble, or anticipating a problem, can send a pop-up instant message, e-mail, or text message to a cell phone or mobile device. The button is located on the lower right of the computer screen, near the clock.
The device is scalable and permits a variety of messages to be programmed, each to a predetermined recipient list. Lee says the ePanic Button software has been embraced widely, not only by lone workers, but also by schools and all kinds of workplaces.
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