Workplace Violence And The Workplace

Each day thousands of employees are subject to threats, harassment, intimidation, and verbal or physical attacks. According to OSHA, workplace homicide is the leading cause of death for women and the 2nd leading cause of death for men. This growing problem has mangers as well as employees uneasy about their safety at work. It also has employers concerned about the tremendous liability associated with incidents of workplace violence. Therefore, it would be beneficial to employers, managers and employees to have some knowledge of workplace violence. Additionally, employers have a legal and moral obligation to provide a safe working environment for their employees.

-Ensuring the security of their workers, carry out a risk assessment and then take action to reduce the chances of those risks arising, for instance monitoring CCTV cameras.

Workplace violence is the main issue in the United States expressed influencing a large number of American consistently. Working environment violence is any demonstration or danger of physical savagery, provocation, terrorizing, or other undermining problematic conduct that happens at the work site. It ranges from dangers and verbal mishandle to physical ambushes and even murder. It can influence and include workers, customers, nurses, patient, clients, and guests. Workplace violence can be discovered anywhere in every field we may accept the fact that it can happen in our workplace too, but the fewer people speak which is encouraging these criminals to prepare of making more atrocity. The occupational safety and health organization (OSHA) have created rules and suggestions to decrease laborer presentation to this deplorable scourge but still many people are being victimized their hands are tied up mouths are taped out to face the reality of what they are living through (OSHA 2015). OSHA’s paradigm incorporates the following elements: management commitment and employee involvement, hazard analysis or assessment, hazard controls, employee training, and recordkeeping and evaluation (McPhaul, London, & Lipscomb, 2013). As mentioned, these elements are basic guidelines in constructing a program, but more specific measures are needed to address specific precursors that contribute to the occurrence of violence and bullying. This would assist in forming the best strategies to remedy workplace violence and incivility.

Violence in any form will not be tolerated and will be dealt with appropriately. Employees at all levels are encouraged to report threatening or intimidating behavior to the appropriate authorities in and outside the department.

management of the security of the workplace to ensure no unauthorised access; preparing and maintaining a work health and safety management plan for the workplace, informing workers about the plan and reviewing and revising it as necessary;

ARTICLE 7: “Assault rates and implementation of a workplace violence prevention program in the Veterans Health Care Administration” (7)

Developing a plan of action to defuse an individual immediately upon hearing about the violent behaviors. Zero Tolerance policy is key in prohibiting any kind of violence or threat and to advise termination for any acts of violence. Employees need to be notified of the policy and employers should make sure that they review the policy and sign to acknowledge it. Training should also be implemented in order to teach supervisors and employees in detection, reporting, and prevention of workplace violence. “It is important to instill a sense of responsibility in employees for preventing violence, and teach them to recognize the signs of potential or actual violence and to take appropriate action such as defusing or reporting it” (http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/labor_law/meetings/2008/ac2008/056.authcheckdam.pdf). Threat assessment team is another option in decreasing workplace violence by including an individual from human resources, security, EEO, decision-makers management, and unions. The team evaluates the risk of an individual, implement a confidential reporting center for complaints of workplace violence, and encourage employees to report incidents.

Workplace violence occurs due to an interpersonal conflict between two or more people that results from differences in their needs, ideas, goals, interests, or values (Marquis and Huston, 2015). Workplace violence is not limited to physical violence; it also includes negative activities such as bulling, verbal abuse, pranking, negative insinuations, gossiping, insubordination, and withholding information (Latham, Ringl, & Hogan, 2013). Research suggests that more than 80 % nurses experience workplace violence at some point in their working careers (Frederick, 2014). New graduate nurses are especially susceptible to workplace violence because they are usually unprepared to deal with it, and they are more likely to leave the profession due to workplace violence (Frederick, 2014). Townsend (2012) reported that 70 % of nurses, who experienced bullying at the workplace, leave their jobs, and 60 % of new graduate nurses quit their jobs within first six months of being bullied (as cited in Marquis & Huston, 2015). Workplace violence is an important leadership issue to address because it affects turnover rates, productivity, patient safety, and overall quality of care (Marquis & Huston, 2015).

So far, there have been few states that have enacted the Workplace Violence Legislative Agenda aimed at preventing workplace violence, which are: Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona,

The acts violence can be overt or covert verbal and or non-verbal aggression. Such act includes behaviors like gossiping, withholding information and ostracism, which are referred to relational aggression or psychological abuse. These behaviors can also extend outside the workplace and can occur in person or in cyberspace (Walrafen, Brewer, & Mulvenon, 2012). According to King-Jones (2011), the origin of lateral violence is related to the oppressed group model that supported that nurses are powerless and oppressed group. Hence, they react by over-powering other Violence in the workplace is a national concern that affects all profession, especially the nursing profession. It is a known fact that violence brings unsafe environment that has detrimental effects to the individual nurses as well and their patients (Chipps, stelmaschuk, Albert, Bernhard, & Holloman,

Nearly 2 million records of American workers have been victims of workplace violation each year. However, many more cases go unreported. The truth is, workplace violence can strike anytime, anywhere, and no one is immune. Workplace violence categories are violence by strangers, co-workers, personal relations, and by customers or clients. Some workers, notwithstanding, are at increased risk at certain worksites. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries that there are a total of 4,405 fatal work injuries in 2013, 4,628 fatal work injuries in 2012.

Workplace violence most often involves aggressive behavior towards peers, subordinates, supervisors, and other members of the workforce. This can range from verbal abuse to physical violence. Aggression may occur as a response to many situations. Common examples are when individuals face the loss of a job, are passed over for promotion, or perceive favoritism toward others in the work environment.

Safety is a default task that is always operational. Safety is a primary consideration throughout crisis intervention for reasons that are both physically and psychologically based (James & Gilliland, 2013). Institutions play a large part in treatment and may be viewed as an equal and contributing partner in resolving problems with clients disposed to becoming physically and verbally assaultive (James & Gilliland, 2013). The five main components of any effective safety and health program also apply to the prevention of workplace violence. These components are management commitment and employee involvement, worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control, safety and health training, and record keeping and program evaluation (Occupational Safety

Employers must provide a safe working environment and equipment / uniform / signs to ensure the employees are as safe as they can be. Customers are also provided with a safe store to shop in and measures are put in place to ensure everyone’s safety in kept in tact

Within the United States, state and federal agencies have responded to data by publishing guidelines on the prevention of workplace violence. According to The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, (OSHA) responded to research findings, union petitions, and growing awareness of the problem of workplace violence by publishing the document "Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Health Care and Social Service Workers." It should be noted that unions originally petitioned, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, (OSHA) for the regulatory standard addressing workplace violence and that these union efforts continue. The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, (OSHA) guidelines were based largely on guidelines developed in 1993 and incorporated in California 's state, Occupational