February Risk Management
The Everyday Face of Workplace Violence
By William Atkinson
According to a report published by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1998,
approximately one thousand employees are murdered yearly while performing their work
duties. The same study, however, noted that there were two million incidences of workplace
violence reported, including one million simple assaults and 400,000 aggravated assaults.
And reported is the key word; the vast majority of workplace assaults and other forms of
aggression go unreported.
The results of some additional surveys shed light on the depth and breadth of the
problem: Northwestern National Life Insurance Company found that 2.5 percent of
respondents had been physically attacked on the job at least once. The American Management
Association found that 52 percent of respondents reported experiencing at least once
incident or threat of violence in the workplace in the previous three years. The Society
for Human Resources Management found that 48 percent of employees surveyed experienced a
violent incident in the workplace in the previous two years, including verbal threats (39
percent), pushing and shoving (22 percent) and fist fights (14 percent). Only 3 percent
involved shootings, knifings or sexual assaults.
According to John Byrnes, president of the Center for
Aggression Management in Winter Park, Florida, in addition to the two
million assaults each year, there are six million instances of verbal threats and sixteen
million instances of harassment in the workplace.
So while employers must take what steps they can to reduce the potential for employee
homicides, they must also work against an even more insidious and pervasive problem that
can wreak havoc day in and day out: bullying, verbal threats, harassment, intimidation,
pushing, shoving, slapping, kicking and fist fights.
Victims
OSHA and the Department of Justice classify the victims of workplace violence as follows:
TYPE I victims have no business relationship with the perpetrators. These would include
cab drivers and chauffeurs, sales and counter clerks and cashiers, gas station attendants
and police. The main motive is robbery. About 80 percent of workplace homicides are of
this type.
TYPE II individuals are those victimized by a current or former client, customer or
patient. Common settings are hospitals, psychiatric facilities, mental health clinics,
drug abuse centers long-term care facilities, prisons and schools.
Victims of Type III violence are current or former employers, spouses or significant
others of the perpetrators. According to the Society for Human Resource Management survey,
57 percent of type III violence is employee on employee, 17 percent is employee on
supervisor and 9 percent is spouse or significant other on employee
Perpetrators
It is difficult to distinctly categorize the individuals who perpetrate type III workplace
violence. However, they may be placed into three general groupings.
Perpetrators may be predisposed to violence as a result of mental illness.
"Psychological dysfunction is prevalent in about 25 percent of cases of workplace
violence," says Daniel Paulk, senior consultant with Crisis Management International,
in Atlanta, Georgia. "These include people who suffer from paranoia, agitated
depression and bipolar disorder."
Early warning signs can include unsubstantiated complaints of unfairness or exaggerated
perceptions of injustice, fascination with the military and weapons, explosions of temper,
inability to accept criticism or authority, and irrational ideas or beliefs.
A large percentage of incidents, especially those of a chronic nature (e.g., verbal
abuse), are perpetrated by what, for want of a better name, we can call bullies.
"These are people who have found that they can get what they want by being
aggressive," explains Steve Kaufer, cofounder of the Workplace Violence Research
Institute in Palm Springs, California.
Bullies often target people who are different than they are, such as those who are of
different races, religions or sexual orientations.
Another category of perpetrators are those not naturally prone to violence or
aggression but who, due to events in their lives, feel forced over the edge. Some
employees feel victimized by their supervisors, managers or employers in general.
"They feel they are being treated unfairly, singled out for discipline or passed over
for promotions," explains Kaufer.
Other employees are singled out for victimization by coworkers. These can include
people of different religions, races or sexual orientation, as well as people who are
overweight or have unusual personality or physical characteristics.
"Many people get teased, but a lot of people lack effective ways to respond,"
says Paulk. "They just can't deal with the harassment. If they lack effective verbal
response skills, they may react physically when they reach their threshold."
Yet another group are those who go over the edge as a result of being unable to handle
stress in daily life. Triggers can include marital and financial problems, and substance
abuse.
Risks
The most important consequence of workplace violence is, of course, the physical and
emotional harm suffered by the victims. Even if they aren't physically injured, they can
suffer from stress, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, exhaustion, insecurity, shame and
embarrassment, nightmares and poor concentration. These problems can lead to a myriad of
further exposures:
Increased workers' compensation costs - While the average cost of a workers' comp claim
is about $12,000, the average cost of a violence-related workers' comp claim is $21,000,
according to the National Council on Compensation Insurance. In 1995, for example, the
NCCI reported six thousand violence-related lost-time injury workers' comp claims, with a
price tag of $126 million in medical and indemnity costs.
The loss of good employees - Employees will resign rather than face a hostile
workplace, and potential employees will be difficult to attract because of your
workplace's reputation.
Lost productivity - This can manifest itself in several ways: absences due to injury or
fear of recurring attack or confrontation; slower work pace due to loss of attention, fear
or fatigue; time taken up by internal and external investigations; and time away from work
for counseling.
Negative public relations - Workplace violence can result in the loss of business from
the customer base.
Negative investor relations - "Investors shy away from mismanaged companies, and
incidents of violence are often translated into the perception of severe
mismanagement," says Rebecca Speer, a San Francisco-based employment lawyer and
consultant specializing in workplace violence prevention and management.
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."
Civil or criminal lawsuits - These can result from negligence in hiring, supervision or
retention. A 1986 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson) stated that
employers must avoid a hostile workplace. A 1998 decision (Faragher v. City of Boca Raton)
upped the ante, requiring that employers prevent, and not just react to, hostile
workplaces. "These cases have significant implications for employers," cautions
Dr. Lynne McClure, president of McClure Associates in Mesa, Arizona.
The Fine Line
Coping with workplace violence is not as simple as refusing to hire or terminating people
who worry you. You have to deal with the realities of the Americans with Disabilities Act
and other employment practices liability issues in the following areas.
Hiring - If you ask an applicant about mental problems or past violent episodes, you
may be in violation of the ADA. If you require applicants to take psychological tests, you
can be charged with an invasion of their privacy. If you attempt to check their
references, you may get little or no information from former employers, who are worried
about being sued for slander.
On the other hand, if you hire applicants who turn out to be prone to violence, you can
be sued by victimized employees or their relatives for negligent hiring.
Terminating - If you terminate an employee for what you perceive to be an act of
violence, hostility or aggression, you run the risk of a wrongful discharge suit. You may
also run the risk of having the employee return to the workplace to commit additional acts
of violence against yourself or coworkers. But if you allow the employee to remain
employed, you run the risk of being sued for negligent retention.
References - If you give a good reference to an employee who was terminated for
violence, you run the risk of a lawsuit from the new employer or the victim of that
employee's violent acts. On the other hand, if you give a negative reference, you run the
risk of being sued by the terminated employee (or being a victim violence yourself).
"You have to walk a fine line between countervailing interests and rights,"
admits Speer. "Employers are not expected to be perfect, but they are expected to be
reasonable. First, become well-educated about all of the issues you're juggling. Second,
be careful when you seek advice. Seek it from an attorney who is familiar with workplace
violence issues and understands the interdisciplinary nature of workplace violence."
Strategies How can you reduce the potential for violence, hostility and aggression in
your workplace? There are several strategies worth investigating.
1. Realize that your workplace is not completely safe. The majority of employers whose
workplaces fall under type III violence do not have violence programs. "They probably
have disaster plans for tornadoes and floods," notes Gary Salmans, vice president and
manager of risk control services, for Marsh USA in Denver. "However, they don't have
plans for violence, which is much more likely to occur. The most powerful weapon a
perpetrator has in the workplace is not a gun or a knife, but employer denial that a
problem exists."
McClure agrees. "Managers want to believe It can't happen here, even when they are
confronted with the statistics. If a stage one is a non-violent person and a stage ten is
a person who has just committed a violent act, most employers call me after stage ten.
Progressive employers call me in at stage nine. I should really be called in at stages two
and three."
"When things are going well, no one wants to attend a workshop on violence,"
admits Thomas Lekan, senior vice president and director of security for KeyBank in
Cleveland, Ohio. "However, after an incident, everyone shows up. The key to managing
violence is prevention. Reaction is important, but prevention is more important."
"Despite the publicity that exists on workplace violence, the majority of our
customers are not sensitized to the issue," admits Al Mangone, product director for
Liberty Mutual Insurance, which offers a number of products and services related to
workplace violence education. "We conduct surveys to try to educate and sensitize our
customers. Then we hope they will request our Workplace Violence Prevention Kit, attend an
overview training program, seek the services of a consultant or attend one of our two-day
seminars."
Paulk recommends that risk managers conduct a risk analysis. What are your
violence-related risks and hazards, given the nature of your business, your employee base,
past problems; and what problems might occur? What do you have in place to prevent and
respond to incidents of violence and aggression?
2. 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 in place prohibiting
such acts," cautions Kaufer.
"Formulate and publicize a policy that is clear cut," says Paulk.
"Explain in detail what you will and will not tolerate, with examples of each."
"The policy should reflect the behavior and culture of your organization - what
you and your employees can reasonably live with," adds Salmans. "Then, have
legal counsel review it."
"Also delineate what the consequences will be for various infractions,"
suggests Lekan.
Speer agrees that flexibility is important. "Zero tolerance for violence means
that you will respond appropriately to all forms of violence in the workplace," she
explains. "However, it doesn't mean you must be rigid - that any potential for
violence is met with termination. Responses, including discipline, should be suited to the
nature of the violation and the surrounding circumstances."
3. Screen and hire carefully. A list of questions can help identify applicants who may
be prone to violence:
What would you do if a fellow employee told you to go to hell? Embarrassed you in front
of others? What did you like most and least about your last job? Last employer? Previous
coworkers? Was your last supervisor easy to work for? Why or why not? Did you think you
were being treated unfairly in your last job? If so, why? What did you do?
4. Have someone on staff to train all employees in how to solve problems, manage
stress, find non-threatening ways to vent anger and resolve conflicts. Salmans offers an
observation about the relevancy of such training: "A larger and larger number of
children in school these days are on behavior-altering prescription drugs. While these
prescriptions serve a purpose, these children are not being taught how to deal with their
own behaviors. They're given pills. When they enter the workforce, their lack of
problem-solving and coping skills can become very evident."
5. Train front-line supervisors on how to recognize potential signs of violence and how
to defuse hostility before it gets out of hand. While supervisors and employers can not
radically change employees' behaviors, they can modify and influence their behaviors
through responsible supervision.
Byrnes stresses the importance of aggression management.
"Identify the emergence of aggression, foresee the possibility of conflict and
prevent it from occurring," he explains. Byrnes sees events developing from an
initial trigger phase, through escalation and finally to crisis, where a loss of control
leads to violence.
If the situation is beyond the capability of the supervisor, they should refer the
hostile employee to your EAP or other directive counseling. "This allows the employer
to retain some degree of oversight and control over the employee," suggests Speer.
"Also emphasize to supervisors during training that they need to report acts of
violence to management," adds Lekan. "Some supervisors may worry about seeming
inept if they do so, so emphasize that you will support them when they report their
concerns."
6. Train employees how to deal with the potential of violence against them. If you
don't have qualified Trainers on-site, hire a consultant. The training should teach
employees how to defuse situations when stressed, bullying or mentally ill coworkers
confront them. Employees can't be expected to be professional counselors, but they can
learn basic skills that will help calm situations down until professional assistance can
arrive.
7. Have a formal mechanism through which employees can report violence or aggression,
and stress the importance of using it. There should be people designated to receive
reports. "Determine how you want to hear reports, how the information will be handled
and what kinds of confidentiality will be provided to employees," suggests Paulk.
"Employees should not be expected to judge situations, but rather just to report
them," continues Paulk. "Trained responders can then make the decisions."
For example, a situation that an employee thinks is serious may not be, and vice versa.
"Emphasize that their concerns will be fairly evaluated," he adds.
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 or ridicule from
coworkers or supervisors. Train supervisors to take such reports seriously, and then
emphasize the point to employees.
Another option is to offer anonymous reporting. "Consider an anonymous hotline to
a third-party organization that reports back to management," suggests KeyBank's
Lekan. "The employee should also be able to call back at a later time to make sure
the problem was appropriately addressed."
8. Create a response team. Large companies will generally have teams composed of
specialists from within the organization (with outside assistance as needed), while
smaller companies may need to rely on outside help (legal counsel, insurance specialist,
psychologist or psychiatrist). Internal members should include, at minimum, risk
management, human resources and senior management.
The team should receive reports of actual or potential violence, aggression and
hostility in the workplace, investigate them and respond appropriately. "It should
operate with an action orientation," emphasizes Lekan. "They shouldn't just talk
about problems. In cases where violence has erupted, most people were able to predict it
in advance, yet nothing was done."
Salmans also emphasizes the importance of decisive action. "Intervene immediately.
Don't overlook a problem and hope it goes away. Once you make a decision as to a response,
draw a line in the sand and follow it. If you follow the details of your policy every
time, chances of recurring incidents decrease substantially."
9. 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
employees to remain in the workplace, the greater their justification builds for
violence," explains Salmans.
Unfortunately, while terminations are effective in removing troublesome employees from
the workplace, employers still risk two backlashes: an even angrier or more unstable
ex-employee returning to the workplace to commit more violence, or a lawsuit for
"wrongful termination." If you suspect either problem, arrange for specialists
to sit in on the termination.
"Since a termination can be a trigger for a lawsuit, it is advisable to have an
attorney present during the termination, or at least consult an attorney for details on
how to conduct it," suggests Salmans.
"Even though you may have a legal right to conduct a termination, you still need
to do it safely," cautions Speer. "Engage the help of a credentialed threat
assessment psychologist or psychiatrist to provide guidance." During the termination,
this specialist can assess whether follow-up actions are needed (e.g., ongoing monitoring
or additional security measures).
For terminations, select a private room, making sure it is free from objects that could
be used as weapons, and has easy egress for all parties. "Above all, allow the
employee to maintain some control and sense of dignity during the termination," says
Kaufer. |
