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“John! You’re going to be late for work!” his wife berated as he’s running out the door. Normally John doesn’t have a problem getting to work on time. But today is different. Nothing seems to be going right--like last night when he got a turkey sandwich for dinner instead of the steak he wanted. This morning he woke up late and had to rush himself to get ready for work. Events like these don’t set well with John. “Everything will get better when I get to work,” he thinks. John has an interview with the vice president of his company for a promotion this morning. He can hardly contain his feelings of happiness even with his previous misfortunes. Everybody at work has assigned parking spaces, and his space happens to be right in front of the building. As he is pulling up to his parking space, he notices that someone else has parked there. “Damn! Now I have to park in the visitor parking lot,” he hissed. Unfortunately, for John, it’s a long walk from where he parked. Making his way to the office building, he continued thinking, “Everything will get better when I get to work.” As he enters the vice-president’s office, he notices someone else sitting in the chair that he should have been sitting in. “Hello. I’m here for the 800 O’clock appointment,” he says. “Oh-uh, sorry, John, but we just found someone else to fill that position. At that moment every bit of rage that John has been holding back bursts out in a tornado of yelling and verbal slander. Nothing can be done to calm John down. Nobody knows what to do, so they just stand out of the way in fright. Allowing John to continue his fit of rage only makes the situation worse. He then pulls out a knife that he usually uses only for work purposes and turns it into an instrument of death. He runs around the vice-president’s desk, stabs him, and watches him die. Only if someone had done something to prevent him from getting to the point of murder, a life could have been saved. Scenarios just as this one demonstrate that workplace violence is real. Because workplace violence is increasing, employers and employees must find ways to prevent violence in the workplace and learn to deal with economical issues.
Increasing workplace violence has become a major concern for businesses. Throughout the United States workplace violence has caused tremendous amounts of injured or killed workers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that an average of 0 workers are murdered each week. An estimated 1 million cases of nonfatal attacks occur each year (Violence in the Workplace 1). One article notes that “Eight percent of all rapes, 7% percent of all robberies, and 16% of all assaults occur at work” (“Preventing Workplace Violence” 1). “Preventing Workplace Violence”, an article in The Weintraub Newsletter, reports that employees or former employees are responsible for % of workplace assaults (1). This increase in violence can be caused by many different issues. One issue could be related to company change. Preventing Violence in the Workplace explains that when companies “down-size, reorganize, reengineer, and demand more of each employee”, they add higher levels of stress (Mattman ). Edward J. Tully, author of Workplace Violence�How Police Can Help, reveals that people find it difficult adjusting to “rapid changes in our workforce culture” (). Other issues are social problems, substance abuse, illegal drug scams, terminations, and poverty (Mattman ). As our society continues to grow, so will our issues, escalating violence. Obviously, increasing violence in the workforce is a problem that must not be taken for granted.
In order to decrease violence in the workplace, employers and employees must use preventative measures. New hiring procedures can keep potentially dangerous people out of the workforce. Screening procedures like background investigations allow companies’ access to criminal, employment, financial, and military records that could aid them in identifying a violent individual (Mattman 4). In addition to hiring procedures, a violence prevention program is necessary. First, a documenting system for violent incidents must be established. Once the information has been documented, it can be used to develop a necessary prevention program policy (Violence in the Workplace 7). One program issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration includes five “key elements”, which are “management commitment and employee involvement, worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control, training and education, and evaluation” (Health Letter on the CDC ). Probably the most ideal way to combat violence is through education. Violence in the Workplace explains that “training should emphasize the appropriate use and maintenance of protective equipment, adherence to administrative controls, and increased knowledge and awareness of the risk of workplace violence” (6). Richard V. Denenberg, author of The Violence-Prone Workplace, suggests that good mediation skills are “valuable” in response to a potential crisis by resolving the matter quickly (18). Stephen Skinner, President of Skinner’s Corner Store, suggests that a “zero-tolerance policy” should be set from day one. According to this policy, violence will result in termination from job (Personal interview). Mark Braverman, author of Preventing Workplace Violence, clearly points out that employees must learn to get more involved with company policies and procedures if violence is to be prevented (17-8). It is important that businesses use preventative measures to reduce the risk of violence, because it can only get worse.
Ultimately, businesses are financially weakened by workplace violence. This is caused by costly litigations and lost productivity. When a lawsuit is filed, responsibility often lies with the company to pay the out of court costs, which add up to a substantial amount. One case involved a postal worker awarded $4.5 million for being shot by a co-worker (Mattman ). “Workplace Violence Can Happen Here,” an article by Susan M. Heathfield, reports that workplace violence costs U.S. businesses “$6 billion per year” (). Lost productivity is caused by the “unavailability of the killed or injured worker, work interruptions caused by police and internal security investigations, damage to the facility, and decreased efficiency and productivity due to post-traumatic stress syndrome” (Mattman ). What is productivity without a solid reputation? Nothing if you ask the average businessman. People don’t want to be associated with an unfriendly environment, according to Stephen Skinner, President of Skinner’s Corner Store (Personal Interview). Having a bad reputation will decrease sales and productivity (Personal interview). Clearly, something must be done to safeguard American businesses from workplace violence. If they are left defenseless, future consequences are certainly at hand.
After reviewing increasing workplace violence, the need for violence prevention, and the economical hardships caused by workplace violence, one can clearly see that if immediate action isn’t taken to decrease violence, the economy of the entire nation will be in jeopardy. Fear should be erased from the workplace. Instead, a feeling of security and accomplishment should take its place.
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