Although no one wants to witness workplace violence, thinking it does not take place from time to time is being unrealistic, especially in today’s world.
With that in mind, officials in Manitoba (Canada) ask the simple question, Do you know how violence is defined in the workplace?
Violence is the attempted or actual exercise of physical force against anyone, or any threatening statement or behavior that gives a person reason to believe that physical force will be used against them.
Examples of threats of violence or acts of violence include:
• physical and sexual assault
• property damage and vandalism
• swearing and verbal abuse
• threats or intimidation
The negative impact of workplace violence is significant. Some of the costs of workplace violence include:
• increased absenteeism and turnover
• anxiety, depression and decreased morale
• increased stress and burnout
• reduced or negative public image
• injury costs and increased health expenses
• increased insurance premiums
• reduced productivity and lost earnings
• liability issues, should harm occur at the workplace
Assess Your Workplace for Troubling Signs
The first step in addressing workplace violence is to assess your workplace for areas, people or tasks that have an increased risk of violence associated with them.
If your assessment identifies a risk of violence, your next step is to develop a violence prevention policy and put it into action at your workplace, in consultation with your workplace safety and health committee, representative, or employees.
For more information on how to prevent workplace violence, visit: http://safemanitoba.com/guideline-violence
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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