April marks Workplace Violence Prevention Awareness Month and with it, a campaign to increase awareness to recognize, prevent, and respond to incidents of workplace violence.
But what is workplace violence, and what are some strategies to prevent instances of it from occurring?
We delve into it all in the following article.
Defining workplace violence
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA,) workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening behavior that occurs at the work site.
Given the definition, examples of workplace violence run the gamut from threats and verbal abuse all the way to physical assaults and even homicide.
Indeed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) reports that a staggering 740 of the 5,283 fatal workplace injuries that occurred in the United States in 2023 were acts of workplace violence. Of that 740, more than 450 were homicides, a staggering 62%.
Sectors with the highest rates of workplace violence
So which workers are at greatest risk of violence? Per the research, the following factors individually contribute to elevated rates of workplace violence:
- Exchanging money with the public
- Working with volatile, unstable people
- Working alone or in isolated areas
- Providing services and care
- Working where alcohol is served
- Time of day and location of work, such as working late at night or in areas with high crime rates
Given those factors, workers who exchange money with the public, delivery and taxi/ride share drivers, healthcare professionals, social assistants, public service workers, customer service agents, law enforcement personnel, and other lone workers are at the highest risk of workplace violence.
Some of the industries from which those workers issue include the following:
Measures to assess risk of workplace violence
The question then, is how to keep at-risk workers safe? As with most safety and security interventions, the response depends on the site of and kind of work the employee is performing.
Therefore, employers should conduct risk assessments to gauge the risk of workplace violence. Safety managers should know what kind of work is being done, particularly if it’s lone work, which carries with it higher levels of inherent risk.
Of course, simply knowing whether high-risk activity is involved isn’t enough. Risk is always dynamic. For instance, driving might not seem like a high-risk activity, at first glance. Factor in, however, long hours and the potential for violence and aggression on the road, and risk increases. The same goes for (extreme) environmental conditions.
Other factors to consider in assessing the risk of workplace violence include:
Where the work is taking place
Sometimes, work takes place at a significant geographical remove from emergency response and rescue services.
When the work is being done
Statistically, work at night typically increases the risk of exposure to violence.
How long the work takes
Similarly, the risk to a worker might grow as time (on the job) increases.
Who the workers are
At-risk work is often specialized work, calling for a specialized skillset. Both the business unit assigning the work and the team controlling for work-related risk should know the worker’s level of experience and training.
What means of communication there is with lone workers
Finally, safety teams must ascertain what kind of communications, including safety management software with integrated communications functionality, the at-risk worker will have while on the job. Will a team in a fixed setting remain in regular contact with the worker? And also, is the work taking place in a location where available communications might be impaired?
Measures to reduce risk of workplace violence
Beyond assessment, employers will need to actively control the risk of workplace violence. Here, best-practice control efforts include:
Suitable training
Training which focuses on concrete, practical strategies to remain safe in specific settings.
Due diligence
Work environments also need to be made as safe as possible for workers, which means that business and risk teams must perform due diligence on the setting that the worker is entering and relay those findings to the worker.
Business teams should only recruit capable employees for at-risk work. For instance, professionals already accustomed to performing such work are more likely to bring valuable experience and expertise to the work, risk mitigation consultation, development, and engagement processes. In turn, that experience and expertise can improve the process for future workers, a net positive to the employer.
Provision of tools
Of course, employers must provision their at-risk workers with the necessary tools and services to perform remote and isolated work effectively and safely, whether it’s access to workplace layouts, the help and supervision of a buddy, professional security staff, personal protective equipment, first aid supplies, communications technologies, cameras and video technology, etc.
Finally, the goal of Workplace Violence Prevention Awareness Month is to increase awareness of the issue. But awareness isn’t enough. Safety and risk teams need to know how to recognize, prevent, and respond to incidents of workplace violence.
As these incidents often involve lone workers, having a lone-worker safety policy is a great place to start.
What should such a policy look like, though? We get into it in our Guide to Mitigating Safety Risk to Lone Workers.
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