Workplace Violence

Workplace Violence has emerged as an important safety and health issue in today's workplace. Its most extreme form, homicide, is the second leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States. Nearly 1,000 workers are murdered, and 1.5 million are assaulted in the workplace each year. According to the BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), there were 709 workplace homicides in 1998, accounting for 12% of the total 6,026 fatal work injuries in the United States.

Environmental conditions associated with workplace assaults have been identified and control strategies implemented in a number of work settings.

• 1 out of 4 workers have been attacked or harrassed
• Number of people attacked in the last year: 2 million
• Number of people threatened: 6.3 million
• Number of people harassed: 16.1 million
• 15% said they have been attacked sometime in their working life
• 21% said a co-worker had been threatened with physical harm in the past year.

Categories of Violence that Occur in the Workplace

Emotionally Enraged

• A person who attacks for personal/business reasons.
• Trends in downsizing, streamlining.

Angry Spouse or Relative

• This person may follow employee to work and create a disturbance at the worksite.

Random Violence

• This happens when violence is not focused on one individual.
• Robbery and other commercial type crimes towards place of employment.

Violence against Law Enforcement

• Violence directed toward police officers or security guards.
• Violent activity that occurs due to other incidents.

Terrorism/Hate crimes

• Crimes that are ethnic, religious or racially motivated.
• Seemingly senseless acts of violence (ex. Oklahoma City bombing).

Characteristics of Persons who Commit Acts of Violence in the Workplace

Hstory of Violence - Individuals who participate in the following: Criminal acts Domestic violence Verbally abusive Anti-social behavior Psychosis This individual will demonstrate: Impaired reality testing; An inability to evaluate the external world objectively and distinguish it from inner experiences; Senseless violence, total inattentiveness to the environment and be grossly disorganized. Schizophrenia- Acute psychosis, may include hallucinations, poor insight, bizarre behavior (i.e. may think someone is controlling them). Major affective disorders- often present with delusions and hallucinations and are often mood congruent (i.e. depression is accompanied by delusions of poverty or disease). Paranoid states-Disorder characterized by delusions of grandeur and persecution, suspiciousness, jealousy, resentment.

Chemical Dependence - Alcohol/Drugs

Use can push subject over the edge. It may not effect their work but supervisor may know they abuse drugs after work or on the weekends. This could cause the person to act out.

Depression

Most commonly treated by counseling. One of seven depressed people will commit an act of violence against themselves or others.

Pathological blamer

Individuals who accept no responsibility for their actions.

Impaired neurological functioning

Individuals that have been diagnosed as those who were hyperactive as a child, have had brain injuries, or abnormal EEG's. These people tend to be less capable of inhibiting themselves.

Interest or obsession with weapons

This does not include hunters or gun hobbyists.

Personality disorders - Normal vs. Abnormal

Personality patterns become inflexible, impaired, and unhealthy. The personality traits become disorders. These people are very rigid and cannot be reasoned with.

Increasing Safety in the Workplace

Better Pre-Employment Screening Conduct criminal history checks Conduct psychological testing/pre-employment testing Always check references Train interviewers to be more skilled and thorough in questioning techniques Training Programs to Deal with Stress All employees should be trained in methods to handle stress Promote awareness Provide training in effective communication Provide training in effective conflict resolution Promote awareness and training in identifying workplace violence

Incidents

It is important to note that workplace violence not only affects co-workers but also customers. 
The following are some good examples:

A furniture store hired a deliveryman who looked good on paper and fit the qualifications perfectly.  After working for a few months, the man raped a customer in her home when he came to deliver her order.  Had the company conducted a background check, they would have found two prior incidents of sexual misconduct. A pizza restaurant hired a convicted child molester who later was accused of raping two teenage employees. A McDonald’s restaurant in Ohio hired an employee who later assaulted a three-year-old child in the workplace. Avis Rent-a-Car, failed to check the background of an employee before hiring him, he later raped a co-worker.  Had Avis conducted proper due-diligence they would have discovered that during the time the applicant listed as being in school, he was actually serving a three-year prison sentence on a robbery conviction. In 1987, an Amtrak employee shot and seriously wounded his supervisor.  Amtrak had failed to discipline the employee for a previous action that indicated violent tendencies.

The Causes

There are many causes of Workplace violence including economic, societal, psychological, and organizations issues. 

The economic causes are an over-stressed population, downsizing or re-organizing departments,
massive layoffs, growth of technology, recession, massive mergers, post modernism and unemployment.

Many people have the opinion that the societal causes of workplace violence are many; a changing
society, violence on television and in the movies, music, violence as an accepted means of problem solving,
not to mention the accessibility of handguns. 

Physiological causes of workplace violence may also be the result of employees who have experienced emotional, physical, or sexual abuse from childhood.  Employees do bring their “baggage” into the
workplace. 

The role that organizations play in workplace violence include; organizational structure, management
style such as authoritarian or autocratic, polarization between employees and managers, the lack of a
forum to address grievances, threats of violence, creativity and new ideas being discouraged. Empowered employees and a voice in the decision-making process are lacking. 

Causes of workplace violence are at the center of the controversy surrounding this issue.  Many individuals in management positions believe disagreeable workers are to blame for workplace violence.  The occasional disgruntled employee who snaps and lashes out at co-workers or employers is presented as the norm.  In response to this stereotype, management has been advised to assess workers and job candidates for their alleged propensity towards violence.  One common practice used to identify possible workplace violence in employees is psychological testing.  These tests can help, but are generally perceived as intrusive and inappropriate.  These tests attempt to reveal which workers may act violently.  Though testing might be
a good indicator for some employers, its not enough.

The following is a summary of the principle causes of workplace violence:

• Understaffing, where workers are forced to work alone or with inadequate support from co-workers. 
• Failure to train workers to recognize and defuse potentially violent situations.
• Failure to assess and determine which clients may exhibit violent or aggressive behavior.
• Failure to emphasize safety measures in the workplace, including designing the workplace to
  minimize potentially violent situations.
• Failure to create and enact emergency procedures to address violent situations.
• Failure to highlight violent hazards and develop control measures, anti-violence workplace policies
  and training programs.
• Lack of support from employers.
• The most prevalent however, is the continuation of the attitude that violence will never happen in
  their place of employment. 

Effects of all these factors have made the potential for violence a daily concern in many workplaces.

Many times violence is not reported or recorded for a variety of reasons.  Some violent incidents may be
perceived as too minor and are therefore not dealt with.  As well, staff may be reluctant to report violence
for fear of being labeled as a problem themselves, or they may fear being blamed for the incident. 
Many workers may look at violence as being part of their job; a risk they are expected to endure. 
Cases of verbal abuse are often seen as not worth reporting, particularly when the employer is not
supportive of the worker’s claim.  For these reasons, the actual statistical extent of violence is not
really known. 

Who is at Risk

Potential for violence can exist in any workplace; some however, are at a greater risk due to the people they
may encounter.  Employees in the service industry and workers who handle large sums of money are more
often at risk for violence.  The greatest risk of violence comes to those who are in the health care field. 
These workers who come in direct contact with patients on a daily basis are at the greatest risk for violence.
  The social service sector, or workers who are in direct contact with the public, also put themselves in
potentially violent situations.  Other workers who may be exposed to violence are: bus drivers, emergency attendants, police officers, institutional attendants, workers in women’s shelters, teachers, insurance compensation clerks, arena workers, letter carriers, security guards, public park officers and any other
worker who may work alone.

The frequency of incidents and costs of each incident is high enough to warrant serious attention by
company owners and managers.  The US Department of labor’s figure of 1,063 workplace deaths a year translates to an average of three people dying at the workplace each day of the year.  This figure does
not account for the innocent people that are caught in the mix.  It is troublesome that at least several
hundred people not involved are killed each year as well.

The impact of each incident is overwhelming.  It is often compared to an airplane crash because when something happens, it receives several days of national coverage and creates a fear that disrupts
feelings of safety for some time.

Legal Issues

Employers hold liability in all areas of business, both civilly and criminally.  Under the theory of the respondent superior, an employer is vicariously liable for any actions committed by its employees within the scope of their employment.  That is to say the employer can be held liable even if they did nothing wrong.  The employer is liable for actions of the employee when the employee is working, even if the employee is acting against company policy. Most importantly, employers can be held liable on the grounds of negligent hiring or negligent retention of an employee who has a known propensity for violence.  Employers can and are being held liable for the willful misconduct of their employees, even if the employees’ actions occur outside the scope or place of employment. This form of liability is defined by the legal theories of negligent hiring and retention.  While these theories are not necessarily new, what is worthy of notice is the increase in negligent hiring and retention claims.  Beginning in the 1980’s, negligent hiring and retention claims have been on a rapid rise.

This rise could be perceived as part of a larger trend as courts continue to show increasing
interest in not only determining guilt, but in compensating the victim.  The interest in compensation can
lend itself to a search for “deep pockets,” and the offender’s employer is a likely candidate.  According
to a study by Liability Consultant’s Inc., a consulting firm specializing in premises liability, the average
settlement in these cases is now over $1.6 million.  Such sensational monetary judgments are sure to
attract attention among potential plaintiffs and the lawyers eager to try their cases.  As awareness
continues to increase, it could be argued that this type of litigation will gain more and more momentum
.  More than ever, employers need to clearly understand what negligent hiring and retention is, what responsibilities employers have to create a safe environment through employee selection, and what
actions are necessary to reduce the risk of liability and loss. 

The person behind the action

A disgruntled employee may return to his or her former place of employment after being terminated and
commit murder or some other violent offense, 25% of these commit suicide after the violent act.  These perpetrators most commonly are disgruntled employees who were terminated, fired, laid off or may have
had a “relationship” with another employee. 

Research of over 200 incidents of workplace violence revealed that in each case, the suspect exhibited
multiple pre-incident indicators that included the following symptoms. (Research conducted by
The Workplace Violence Research Institute)

• Increased use of alcohol and/or illegal drugs
• Unexplained increase in absenteeism
• Noticeable decrease in attention to appearance and hygiene
• Depression and withdrawal
• Explosive outbursts of anger or rage without provocation
• Threatens or verbally abuses co-workers and supervisors
• Repeated comments that indicate suicidal tendencies
• Frequent, vague physical complaints
• Noticeably unstable emotional responses
• Behavior that is suspect of paranoia
• Preoccupation with previous incidents of violence
• Increased mood swings
• Has a plan to “solve all problems”
• Resistance and over-reaction to changes in procedures
• Increase of unsolicited comments about firearms and other dangerous weapons
• Empathy with individuals committing violence
• Repeated violations of company policies
• Fascination with violent and/or sexually explicit movies or publications
• Escalation of domestic problems
• Large withdrawals from or closing his/her account in the company’s credit union

During post-incident investigations, employees and co-workers in each case stated that they observed
one or more of these symptoms but considered them insignificant or just “weird” behavior. 
Unfortunately, these employees had not been briefed in symptom recognition of potentially violent
behavior, nor given instructions on how to report such information. (WPRI)

The profile of the person behind the action is as follows:

• White male, 35-45 Years old
• Criminal History
• Unable to tell the truth on many occasions
• Poor job performance
• Loner, not many friends and little contact with family
• Always disgruntled
• Blames others for everything
• Cannot take criticism
• Identifies well with violence
• Drug user