How Can You Help Prevent a Workplace Violence Incidence?

OSHA has issued new enforcement procedures to its field offices on investigating violence in the workplace. In this procedural document, OSHA defines violence, indicates high-risk individuals, lists preventative controls and provides advice to employers. Some of the guidance from OSHA is straight forward, such as advising companies to immediately contact their attorney following any act of violence. Some industries are more prone to violent incidents because of the stress-related job or valuable goods sold. An effective workplace violence preventative program starts with employee screening and contains a tough workplace violence and weapons policy. It is also critical to provide training so your management and staff understand the policy.

Even if you are not in a stress-related job or sell valuable merchandise, any company can have a risk for workplace violence. This is especially true with rising anger issues being brought into the workplace from outside stress or with anger towards managers, co-workers, and clients. You cannot predict the behavior of employees, clients, employee relatives and friends. Nor can you prepare for every possible danger. But it is the employer's responsibility to have a "duty of care" to keep all individuals in the workplace safe from dangers that can be reasonably anticipated. There are potential engineering and administrative controls that a company can use to minimize or eliminate workplace violence risks. These include alarm systems, panic buttons, metal detectors, closed-circuit video monitoring and locking doors. These types of controls help to stop people bringing in weapons or entering without proper permission. But what about stress or built-up resentment? Sometimes a management style can prevent workplace violence.

I recently went to a meeting where Certified Anger Management Specialist Neca Smith discussed 5 leader's keys to managing anger in the workplace. These principles of management are:

• be decisive
• be intentional
• be realistic
• be responsible
• be prepared

These principles of management can help to alleviate stress and built-up resentment that an employee may have in the workplace. An employee can get angry for a number of reasons, but some of the top reasons are due to inadequate communication, constant changing of what a supervisor wants, feeling exploited or "used", getting unfair treatment, and not getting a supervisor's support. If you are a supervisor, you can prevent problems in the workplace by creating a team environmental where everyone is treated fairly, asked to cooperate, and supports one another. Be clear and consistent with your directions. Provide realistic deadlines with some flexibility. Walk the talk. Take action to address misconduct right away. Provide feedback. Give credit where due.

Understand that there are different types of anger: explosive, chronic, normal, and bitter. And some people can exhibit different types of anger based on their surroundings or situation. It is normal for a person to exhibit a bit of anger here and there. But it should not last nor should it be frequent. There are signs you can look for to indicate that an employee may be under too much stress or may have built-up resentment that could create an explosive incident, bitter attack, or other violent act. These signs include lack of cooperation, inadequate communication, not following through with directions, not adhering to policy, or appearing unmotivated. Some of these signs can be normal every once in a while, but you will want to take note should an employee have signs that are abnormal or growing longer or more frequent.

Your company might have a crisis management team that is trained to handle potential violent situations. If you believe there may be a potential risk due to anger in the workplace, refer to your company's workplace violence policy immediately to determine what steps you need to take. Get help by contacting your crisis management team, human resources, safety manager, or other responsible point of contact as soon as you recognize the potential workplace violence risk.