There were approximately 1000 employees murdered while performing their work duties in 1998

Anyone who deals extensively with the public and works under stressful conditions must consider what can be done to prevent and respond to workplace violence. What happens if you are forced to cut someone's power and a customer comes storming out of his house in anger? What if a coworker, who is having a particularly bad day, walks up to you brandishing a screwdriver?

According to a report published by the US Dept of Justice, there were actually 2-million incidences of workplace violence reported in the US, including
1-million simple assaults and 400,000 aggravated assaults in 1998. There were approximately 1000 employees murdered while performing their work duties.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. Experts emphasize that the vast majority of workplace assaults and other forms of aggression are never even reported. For example, the American Management Assn, New York, NY, found that 52% of respondents in the US reported experiencing at least once incident or threatened incident of violence in the workplace in the previous three years.

The Center for Aggression Management, Winter Park, Fla, which consults for utilities, adds the following: In addition to the 2-million assaults each year, there are 6-million instances of employees being verbally threatened, and 16-million instances of employees being harassed.

In sum, while managers must take steps to reduce the potential for employee homicides, there is an even more insidious and pervasive problem that can wreak havoc in the workplace--bullying, verbal threats, harassment, intimidation, pushing, shoving, slapping, kicking, fist fights, and so on.

Identify perpetrators

It is difficult to distinctly categorize the individuals who perpetrate workplace violence. However, it is convenient to place them into three general groupings. Some are mentally ill and may be predisposed to violence as a result. This includes people who suffer from paranoia, agitated depression, or a bipolar disorder. Early signs of such problems can include unsubstantiated complaints of unfairness, exaggerated perceptions of injustice, fascination with the military and/or weapons, explosions of temper, inability to accept criticism, irrational ideas or beliefs, inability to accept authority, and being a loner.

A large percentage of incidents, especially those of a chronic nature--such as daily harassment or verbal abuse--are perpetrated by individuals often classified as bullies. "These are people who have found that they can get what they want in life by being aggressive with other people," explains Steve Kuala, cofounder of the Workplace Violence Research Institute, Palm Springs, Calif, which also consults for utilities.

The third group includes people who are not naturally prone to violence, but because of events taking place in their lives, feel forced over the edge. Some of these feel victimized by their supervisors, managers, or employers in general. "They often feel they are being treated unfairly, singled out for discipline, passed over for promotions, and so on," explains Kuala. In some cases, these employees do not react with aggression while employed, but if they are terminated, they may respond violently.

Others feel victimized by their coworkers, such as the bullies described above. These victims can include people of different religions, races, or sexual orientation, as well as people who are overweight, or have an unusual personality or physical characteristics. Most people get teased, but some lack effective ways to respond. They simply can't deal with the harassment. If they lack effective verbal response skills, they may react physically when they reach their threshold.

Still others feel victimized by life in general. Many employees who go over the edge at work do so because they are unable to handle daily stresses. Triggers can be marital problems, financial problems, substance abuse, or rejection by a girl/boyfriend.

What are the risks?

The damage can be more than physical. Affected employees can suffer from stress, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, exhaustion, insecurity, shame, embarrassment, nightmares, and poor concentration--whether as the result of a single incident or being subjected to aggression or hostility on a daily basis. These problems lead to several different problems.

One is monetary, including increased workers' compensation (WC) costs for utilities. While the average cost of a WC claim is about $12,000, the average cost of a violence-related WC claim is $21,000, according to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), Boca Raton, Fla. Another monetary loss may be Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) fines. Under OSHA's general duty clause, employers are required to "furnish, to each employee, employment and place of employment that is free from recognizable hazards that are causing, or likely to cause, death or serious harm to the employee."

Performance is another area that suffers. For example, good employees may resign and a company may have trouble attracting new employees because of its poor reputation. Lost productivity can also occur as a result of injury and/or fear of recurring attack or confrontation. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, assault victims miss an average of five days of work.

A third problem is civil or criminal lawsuits. These can result from negligent hiring (hiring employees you knew or should have known were violent or had the potential for violence), negligent supervision, and/or negligent retention (retaining employees you knew or should have known were violent or had the potential for violence, and not taking action to prevent such violence).

Create a workplace violence policy.

You can't do much to employees for committing acts of violence or aggression if you don't have a policy prohibiting such acts. Formulate and publicize a policy that is clear cut. Explain in detail what you will and will not tolerate, with examples of each. Then, have legal counsel review it. Next, delineate what the consequences will be for various infractions of the policy.

"We have a policy that violence will not be tolerated," states Judy Novak, a behavioral health therapist, Salt River Project, Phoenix, Ariz. "We also have a drug-free workplace policy, which helps to manage violence, since substance abuse tends to reduce inhibitions to violence."

Screen and hire carefully. This helps to prevent hiring at-risk employees.

Train all employees to solve problems. Teach them how to manage stress, find nonthreatening ways to vent anger, and resolve conflicts.

Recognize potential signs of violence. Teach employees and supervisors what to watch for and how to defuse hostility before it gets out of hand. This is important, because spontaneous acts of violence are extremely rare. Generally, all of the signs and symptoms have been there. "Anytime there is an incident, we always find a history to the person," notes Michael O Lynch, director of corporate investigations, Detroit Edison Co, Detroit, Mich. "I have never seen a case where the behavior is uncharacteristic, even if it is a short history, such as might be the case if the person has recently been experiencing stress as a result of problems at home."

"Many utilities have crisis management programs, which are important to respond to violence," notes John Byrnes, president, Center for Aggression Management. "However, it is better to be able to prevent violence than have to respond to it. Even programs on conflict resolution presuppose conflict. You're already reacting!"

Byrnes recommends aggression management as a way to reduce the potential for violence. "You want to identify the emergence of aggression, foresee the possibility of conflict, and prevent it from occurring by defusing it," he explains. He sees events escalating in three phases: The Trigger phase contains the little nuisances most people experience and cope with every day. In the Escalation phase, the tension and frustration become obvious to others. The employee can eventually lose verbal control, experience total loss of quality judgment. The person loses physical control in the Crisis phase. "This is when violence occurs," Byrnes explains.

At the Orlando Utilities Commission, Orlando, Fla, security guards are trained to assess the demeanor of employees as they arrive for work each day. "If they are concerned about an employee's demeanor, they call the site security supervisor," states Charlie Wright, director of security. "If a problem seems more imminent, they will call me, and I will contact the HR department. If the situation seems extremely serious, they are instructed to contact the nearest manager at that facility immediately."

Deal with potential violence.

If you don't have qualified instructors on-site, hire a consultant who specializes in this area. The training should focus on helping employees learn how to defuse situations.

Have a formal reporting mechanism. Emphasize to supervisors and employees the importance of using it. There should be certain people designated to receive such reports. Determine how the reports will be filed, how the information will be handled, and what kinds of confidentiality will be provided to employees.

One of the most significant hurdles employers have to overcome in their efforts to prevent workplace violence is dealing with employee resistance to reporting incidents. They are often embarrassed, worried about retaliation by the perpetrator, worried about being ridiculed by coworkers or supervisors, or believers in the old code of silence--"Don't be a snitch." One way to overcome that is to teach supervisors about the importance of taking such reports seriously, and then emphasize to employees that their reports will be taken seriously. Another option is to offer anonymous reporting.

Response to reports.

A response team should handle this. The composition of such a team can vary, depending on the size of the utility and the qualifications of professionals within the organization. External members should include legal counsel, an insurance specialist, and a psychologist or psychiatrist. Internal members should include risk management, human resources, and senior management.

Provide appropriate assistance.

If an employee has committed an extremely violent act, then the involvement of law enforcement is the most appropriate response. However, in less severe situations, referral to an employee assistance program may be a better solution.

Consider termination. If an employee's infraction or continued failure to follow the policy dictates termination, then it is important to proceed. The longer you allow such an employee to remain in the workplace, the greater the stress that is building on both sides.

Unfortunately, while terminations are effective in removing troublesome employees from the workplace, managers still risk two backlashes--one in the form of an even angrier or more unstable ex-employee returning to the workplace to commit more violence, or a lawsuit for wrongful termination. If you have reason to suspect one or both problems, it is advisable to arrange for specialists to sit in on the termination. Since a termination can be a trigger for a lawsuit, have an attorney present during the termination, or at least consult an attorney for details on how to conduct the termination.

Even though you may have a legal right to conduct a termination, you still need to do it safely. Engage the help of a credentialled threat assessment psychologist or psychiatrist to provide guidance on how to safely terminate the employee. During the termination, this specialist can assess whether followup actions, such as ongoing monitoring or additional security measures, are necessary.

--William Atkinson