Workplace Violence Resources

News reports from across the nation of violent workplace incidents often cause employers and employees to worry about the safety of their own workplace and whether anyone they interact with at work could be capable of violence.

Some suggested actions employers can take are :

• Establish a zero tolerance level for threats of violence in the workplace. The theory that "people who threaten do not act" is a myth. Take threats – and the employees who make them – seriously and refer them to an employee assistance program early in the process.
• Adopt a workplace violence prevention policy. A prevention and intervention policy defines behaviors that qualify as "threats or acts of violence, clearly states the consequences of such behavior, and describes the workplace environment that us desired by management.
• Establish a critical incident plan. This plan identifies a crisis intervention team and "point person" in the event of either a threat or a critical incident.

Workplace Violence Statistics -

• 1000 murders per year

• 1.5 million assaults per year

• 84,000 robberies per year

• 51,000 rapes per year

• 396,000 aggravated assaults per year