Unfulfilled job expectations, long work hours, and a general lack of job security have made work environments, particularly those at dot-coms, extremely volatile, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III), which says incidents of desk rage and associated workplace violence are on the rise.
Providing appropriate training to employees is a demonstration that management takes threats and aberrant behavior seriously.
Employees of service-related companies seem to experience the highest incidence of workplace violence, with stress on the job as the main cause. Department of Justice information reveals that, on average, 2 million people are victims of workplace violence each year. About 1,000 of those are homicides, with assaults, assaults with a deadly weapon, robberies, and rapes, making up the rest. One of 10 Americans (10%) say they work in an atmosphere where stress has caused physical violence and 42% indicate their workplace is a place where yelling and verbal abuse takes place. While only two percent of Americans say workplace stress has caused them personally to strike a co-worker, many more (29%) admit to yelling at co-workers because of stress.
Another form of workplace violence, known as "desk rage," which includes screaming, throwing objects, and other serious acts of violence against coworkers, has increased. Providing appropriate training to employees is a demonstration that management takes threats and aberrant behavior seriously. Employees should be encouraged to report such incidents to management.
To help prevent such episodes, the III recommends:
Developing workplace safety guidelines.
Considering the purchase of workplace-safety insurance coverage.
Identifying and documenting high-risk behavior in employees.
Properly screening new and potential employees.
Training management to deal with customer or employee complaints.
There are also some ways for management to check for high-risk employees. Watch for these identifiers:
Direct or veiled threats of harm.
Intimidating, belligerent, harassing, bullying, or other inappropriate and aggressive behavior.
Numerous conflicts with supervisors and other employees.
Bringing a weapon to work, brandishing a weapon at work, or making inappropriate references to guns, and expressing a fascination with weapons.
Making statements that show a fascination with other incidents of workplace violence, or that indicate approval of the use of violence to solve problems.
Making statements that indicate desperation over family, financial, or other personal problems, to the point of considering suicide
Excessive use of drugs or alcohol.
Extreme changes in behavior.
The III also recommends purchasing the correct insurance coverage that will help protect a company from the tangible and intangible costs of workplace violence. This would go hand in hand with developing crisis communication plans to protect employees and the business.
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