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This is the first of
a two-part series of articles on Workplace Violence. The next
article will appear next week.
Understanding
Workplace Violence: Factors That Put Workers at Risk
 Auburn,
Jan. 25---Acts of violence in the workplace have received
widespread attention in recent years. Homicides committed by former
or disgruntled employees receive a lot of media coverage but are
only a fraction of all workplace violence.
Violence in work
settings has emerged as an important safety and health issue,
according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Violence resulting in death has become the second leading cause of
fatal occupational injury in the United States.
Providing a safe
environment for workers includes being able to recognize potential
risk for violent behavior and taking appropriate steps to eliminate
as many risks as possible.
Workplace violence,
according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, can be any act
of physical violence, threats of physical violence, harassment,
intimidation, or other threatening, disruptive behavior that occurs
at the place of work.
Acts of violence are not
always fatal. The broad USDA definition encompasses more than
physical assaults. It includes violent threats, verbal abuse, and
sexual assaults and harrassment. As many at 1.5 million nonfatal
violent acts are committed in the workplace annually. Many incidents
can be traced directly to violent behavior in an employee's home
and/or community.
Providing a workplace
that is as free as possible from the potential for violent behavior
is complicated, says Dr. Jacquelyn Robinson, a community workforce
development specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension
System.
"In every work
situation, risk factors are present and different. The potential for
violence increases as the number of risk factors increase."
Knowing which risk
factors will trigger a violent reaction or episode is impossible.
However, research shows that workers most at risk for becoming
victims of workplace violence are those who
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Come into contact
with the public
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Have responsibility
for handling money
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Deliver passengers
or products
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Are mobile while on
the job (i.e. home health care providers)
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Have responsibility
for working with potentially violent individuals, such as those
incarcerated
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Work alone or in
small numbers
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Have jobs in, or
drive through high-crime areas
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Are based within the
community
The Occupational Safety
and Health Administration offers guidelines to helpminimize
workplace violence and its effects. A few of the recommended
controls include
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Installing physical
barriers such as bullet-resistant enclosures and pass-through
windows, alarm systems and panic buttons, height markers on exit
doors, and surveillance systems
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Building elevated
vantage points
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Providing
unobstructed visibility of service and cash register areas
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Replacing existing
lights with bright, effective lighting
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Hiring ample
staffing
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Arranging furniture
to avoid entrapment
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Posting emergency
procedures to use in the event of a robbery
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Establishing liaison
with local police
Extension Source: Dr.
Jacquelyn Robinson, Community Workforce Development Specialist,
Alabama Cooperative Extension System (334) 844-5353
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