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John W. Kennish, CPP - Security Consultant
62 East Pond Meadow Road, Westbrook, Connecticut 06498
Phone: (860) 399-8545
Fax: (860) 399-4150
Kennish.com
E-Mail John Kennish
© 2000 John W. Kennish, CPP
Each of these acts of violence could result in litigation. No universal standard of care has been adopted which sets forth an employer's duties with regard to workplace violence. However, this article explores one view of an employer's standard of care. Attorneys may use it as a factual checklist to evaluate a case for potential employer liability. A single breach of this proposed standard may not be sufficient to trigger liability, but clearly, the more numerous and egregious the violations, the greater the probability that the employer will be held liable. Moreover, since law firms are not immune to incidents of workplace violence, practitioners may use the standard as a guide to evaluate the safety of their own offices.
National Victim Center, Arlington, Virginia
Lisa Bucci Ferguson, Esq.
Staff Attorney
(703) 276-2880
August 1998
Violence in the Workplace
I. The Problem
1. Identifying the Problem
2.Examining the Causes
Violence in the Workplace
While many traditional risks and threats that affect business and industry remain constant, others change as new technology and criminal methodology develop. Some risks actually diminish as the criminal element identifies new, more productive methods and techniques.
Periodically, however, a unique threat emerges, demanding attention and countermeasures. Today one such risk is violence in the workplace. Because its consequences can be extreme, violence is a threat not to be ignored. Concern about and actions to control this threat are clearly warranted.
For perhaps a century or more, the U.S. has had a higher rate of individual violence than most other developed nations. Since the 1960's this rate has increased dramatically, despite general social progress and widespread social concern. As many security and law enforcement professionals know, violence has traditionally occurred among friends, relatives, and acquaintances; and violence among co-workers has now spread to the workplace.
The Justice Department reports that nearly one million violent crimes - or almost one-sixth of all reported violent crimes in the country - occur in the workplace. It estimates that 8% of rapes, 7% of robberies, and 16% of all assaults occur in the workplace annually. Therefore, workers have a one-in-four, or a 25% chance of becoming the victim of some form of violence at work.
Most homicides result from arguments or disputes between two people who know each other well, such as co-workers. Someone once said that "Only your friends can hurt you." And with regard to interpersonal violence, this can become tragically evident. A seemingly simple verbal conflict may eventually escalate into a violent act. In many instances, those who witness these adversarial verbal exchanges fail to see the danger of the situation; as a result, the problem remains, and violent behavior can eventually ensues.
In many workplace incidents, management and their companies have failed to identify the potential danger signals early enough, or to prepare, nor respond properly. Nearly 25% of the 311 companies surveyed by the American Management Association, the AMA, said at least one of their workers had been attacked, or killed on the job since 1990. However, and according to the same survey, only 24% offered some employees formal training on coping with workplace violence. Only 10% offered such training to all employees. Fewer than 50% of the firms surveyed had procedures in place to deal with violent incidents, other than to have employees call the police by dialing "911", thus demonstrating an obvious lack of preparedness in this area.
Increasingly, employees are venting their work-related anger and frustration through aggression, and other violent behavior. The behavior that is referred to as "road rage" is no mystery at all to the law enforcement or security professional. Anger vents itself in many forms from kicking the cat, to beating people in the local tavern, to wife and child abuse, road rage, and then murder in the workplace.
A report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH, stated that from 1980-89, nearly 12% (7,603 of 63,589) workplace deaths were classified as homicides. For that period, homicide was the third-leading cause of occupational death in the U.S., behind motor vehicle crashes, and machine-related incidents.
Violence specifically directed against employers and employees by other employees is now the fastest-growing category of homicide in the U.S. According to the American Society for Training and Development, rates of workplace homicide may have nearly tripled since 1989.
Data also reveals that workplace homicide is the leading cause of death for American women in the workplace, accounting for 42% of female worker on-the-job fatalities.
As an overall example of the magnitude of this problem, during 1992, 111,000 incidents of workplace violence were reported, and 17% of all work related deaths, or 1,072, were due to homicide. From the perspective of economics, there were an estimated $ 4.2 billion in related costs for employers as a result which greatly impacted morale, efficiency, and productivity. And the numerous resulting civil actions take an additional and significant toll.
Interpersonal acts of violence - whether at home, on the street, or in the workplace - often have common variables and causes, and are, to a high degree, predictable. To better understand this problem, one must review violent actions in general, not as they relate to the workplace, but to people and their relationships. To understand and control workplace violence, the motivation for such an attack must be identified, as must the type of person most likely to commit such an act.
However, of extreme importance, and as it regards this area of risk: such incidents are likely to be the culmination of a series of tangible events, which constitutes "red flags," which can serve as early warning signs of a possible, and pending violent act. Recognizing these warning signs, and knowing how to defuse disputes early may significantly reduce the number of violent incidents: instead of just temporarily cooling off the combatants.
Thank you for your interest. Please contact
Mr. Kennish, by E-Mail, with your written request
for
the remainder of this educational article.
John W. Kennish, CPP - Security Consultant
62 East Pond Meadow Road, Westbrook, Connecticut 06498
Phone: (860) 399-8545
Fax: (860) 399-4150
Kennish.com
E-Mail John Kennish
© 2000 John W. Kennish, CPP