Workplace Violence - Research Paper Example

Workplace Violence “Some 2 million American workers are victims of workplace violence each year” (What is Workplace Violence, p Workplace violence can be defined as the violence happens at the workplace between employees or between employees and the employers. It can occur due to industrial disputes, conflicts between the employees, competition between different trade unions, different political or cultural ideologies of the employees and the employers. Non physical violence such as intimidation, abuse, threats etc, physical violence like punching, kicking, pushing etc and aggravated physical violence using weapons are the major categories of workplace violence. “The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health says there are 3 people murdered every day at work. Murder is the second highest reason for death in the workplace with over 1000 being killed every year!” (Workplace Violence Statistics) Workplace violence is not good for the interests of either the employers or the employees. It can destroy the mutual relationships between the employers and employees. Cooperation is necessary among the employees since most of the organizational works are at present completed using team work. Workplace violence will destroy the cohesion of various teams formed in an organization for completing different works. This paper briefly analyses the topic workplace violence, its causes and possible preventive measures. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of 564 work-related homicides occurred each year in the United States from 2004 to 2008. The BLS reports that "most shootings occurred in the private sector (86 percent) whereas 14 percent of shootings occurred in government. Of the shootings within the private sector, 88 percent occurred within service-providing industries, mostly in trade, transportation and utilities (Whitmore) It is a fact that the stress levels of the current employees are more than that of the employees of three four decades before. Most of employees working in an organization fail to achieve work-life balance because of their increased commitments in personal and professional lives. The failure to attain work-life balance put them under immense stress. Current employees are getting better salaries compared to the employees of few decades before, but along with the increased salary, they are getting increased stress also from their workplaces because of increased responsibilities. Failure to fulfil the expectations of the employer may result in loss of jobs and hence employees always work under pressure. The employee is connected with his family, society and workplace in different ways. All these institutions give more responsibilities to him. It is difficult for him to find enough time to fulfil all his commitments. Overtime duty is strictly implemented in many organizations because of manpower shortage and overload of works. Thus the current employees are tied most of his times to the organization and they are not getting enough time to meet their other requirements. In short, most of the current employees are working under immense stress which can lead towards workplace violence. Private sector employment laws in America are weaker compared to the public sector laws. Private firms in America give more freedom to the workers as part of their modern scientific management principles. However, workers often exploit their freedom in an unhealthy manner which may lead towards increased workplace violence in the private sector. In public enterprises, strict screening is performed at the gates for guns and weapons, before the employees enter their offices. On the other hand, in private organizations, such intense screening is not there and it is easy for the private employees to enter the company premises with guns like dangerous weapons. One research study about workplace violence showed that: “91.6% of shootings on the job committed by men and almost 38% of shootings in the workplace happened in "white collar" situations” (Workplace Violence Statistics). The number of women engaged in workplace violence is very less. This is because of the fact that men are more dominating or aggressive types compared to women. Women are better problem solvers in critical conditions compared to men. Some of the biggest organizations in the world like PepsiCo have female CEO’s at present because of women’s superior abilities in problem solving. The workplace violence at white collar levels is comparatively less than that in worker category. This is because of the fact that people working in the higher positions have better problem management skills than the people working in the worker category. White collar professionals are better educated than the normal workers and they will use diplomatic methods to solve problems. On the other hand, workers usually exchange rash words even for silly incidents which may finally lead towards violent activities or clashes between them. A number of different actions in the work environment can trigger or cause workplace violence. It may even be the result of non-work-related situations such as domestic violence or “road rage.” Workplace violence can be inflicted by an abusive employee, a manager, supervisor, co-worker, customer, family member, or even a stranger. Whatever the cause or whoever the perpetrator, workplace violence is not to be accepted or tolerated (Workplace Violence) Many employers and the employees have the false belief that only the incidents at the workplaces may cause workplace violence. In fact the workers may carry his family issues also to the organization and this may often cause workplace violence indirectly. For example, the mood of a worker who came to an organization after clashing with his wife may not be good. That worker can be easily got agitated even for simple incidents at the workplace. Thus domestic problems can also lead towards workplace violence. “Workers who work alone or in small groups during late night or early morning hours in high-crime areas or in community settings are facing increased risk” (What is Workplace Violence, p.1). For example, nurses quite often forced to work in night shifts in order to take care of patients. Patients may have different moods at different times. Some patients may develop vengeance towards the nurses, out of the feeling that they are not cared properly by the nurses. In such cases, it is quite possible that they may attack the nurses physically. In some other cases, it is possible that nurses may face sexual abuses also. Psychiatric evaluators and doctors are also vulnerable to physical violence from the patients. Buckley & Klotz (2011) have pointed out that “Larger organizations in America are better armed with many of the programs that have been developed to minimize the occurrence of workplace violence compared to the smaller organizations (Buckley & Klotz). Smaller organizations may not have the resources and expertise to counter the workplace violence. Smaller firms always like to reduce their overhead expenses in order to maximize their profits. They will never spend much money for reducing workplace violence. Many of the smaller firms have the beliefs that since they have less manpower, the chances of workplace violence are also less. But in reality, the above assumptions seems to be an incorrect one since most of the workplace violence incidents are reported from smaller firms rather than the bigger firms. Workplace violence negatively affects both the employer and the employees. Employee may lose their morale and productivity if they develop some conflicts with fellow employees or the employer. The clashes may often cause severe injuries or even loss of life to the victims of workplace violence. The employers may force to spend huge money as the direct cost of workplace violence. It is the duty of the employer to compensate the employee, if the employee suffers death or injury. Workplace violence can destroy the reputation of an organization. Current customers are more focussed on the reputation of the organization while they seek some services from it. Brand building is one of the major areas in which current organizations are engaged in. It is difficult for an organization to build its brand image if violence occurs commonly at its workplace. Corporate social responsibility is one of the much talked subjects in the current business world. An organization cannot demonstrate better social responsibility if it fails to ensure peace at its workplace. “In 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that domestic/intimate partner violence costs employers $727.8 million in lost productivity, with more than 7.9 million paid workdays lost each year” (Dealing With Violence in the Workplace). Workplace violence often affects the productivity of the organization. It may lead to even temporary closure of the organization. For example, if two trade unions clash each other in an organization, the organization ay close its operations at least for few hours or days in order to settle the issues. Such unexpected temporary suspension of jobs may cost millions of dollars to the organization. The employer is the one who pays the insurance premiums of the health care insurance of the employees. In most of the cases, the health insurance companies pay only for the natural diseases or accidents occurred to the employees. Work place violence is mostly uncovered in the health insurance package. Thus the employers forced to pay the money form their pockets to the victims of the workplace violence. “The most important component of any workplace violence prevention program is management commitment” (Violence in the Workplace). If the management is reluctant in enforcing strong norms in the organization, workers will engage in violent activities at their own will. The best way of avoiding workplace violence is implementing a zero tolerance policy at the workplace by the employer. Most of the workplace violence happens because of the prejudice that the culprits can easily escape from punishments. Workers have the belief that if they suffers any punishment from the employer, their trade union will come for their rescue. In some countries where left parties are prominent the above assumption is somewhat true. For example, in some of the Indian states like West Bengal and Kerala, left parties are in power. Trade unions are so strong in these states and hence the employers often reluctant in taking actions against their employees even if the employees engage in illegal or violent activities. The employer should make an agreement with the trade unions and the employees about the code of conducts at the workplace and it should be implemented strictly in order to prevent workplace violence. According to a study done by the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, more than 70 percent of American workplaces do not have a formal program or policy in place to address workplace violence. To successfully battle workplace violence, organizations should develop an internal risk assessment and prevention plan (Whitmore) As mentioned earlier, stress is one of the major factors of workplace violence and hence implementation of stress management programs may reduce the workplace conflicts and violence. Stress management is essential both for the employees and employers. Stress education and management techniques will help a person in taking control of both his personal and professional life. Physically he can keep all his personal matters away from the workplace; but mentally it is difficult for a person to concentrate fully on his profession if he is agitated by some personal problems. Proper training should be given to employees in managing conflicts among them. To conclude, workplace violence is growing day by day and it is costing millions of dollars to the organizations. Both the employer and the employee are equally suffered from workplace violence. The employee may suffer physical or mental injuries from workplace clashes whereas the employer suffers financial losses and loss of productivity. Moreover, the reputation of the organization will be severely damaged if violence continues in an organization. Private sector and service sector are mostly vulnerable to the workplace violence incidents. Along with workplace problems, family problems can also lead towards workplace violence. Current employees are working under severe stress and emotional breakdown can occur anytime at the workplace which may lead towards violent activities. Excessive trade unionism is another motivating factor for excessive violence at workplace. Lack of fear about punishment lead the employees towards violent behaviours. The employer should implement zero tolerance policy towards workplace violence in order to reduce violence at workplace. Proper training should be given to the employees with respect to the code of conduct at workplace and also about the stress management techniques. Works Cited 1. Buckley, Ronald M & Klotz, Anthony C. “Where Everybody Knows Your Name': Lessons From Small Business About Preventing Workplace Violence”. 2011. Harvard Business Review. 2. “Dealing With Violence in the Workplace”. 2010. Web. 11 March 2011. 3. “Violence in the Workplace’. 2008. Web. 11 March 2011. 4. “What is Workplace Violence”. 2002. U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Web. 11 March 2011. 5. “Workplace Violence”. 1998. The USDA handbook on workplace violence prevention and response. Web. 11 March 2011 6. “Workplace Violence Statistics”. Web. 11 March 2011. 7. Whitmore, Bill. “The Broad Spectrum of Workplace Violence”. 2011. Web. 11 March 2011. Read More