March/April 1996
Violence in the workplace is widespread today. Even if your company has never suffered any incidents, an open-eyed review of your security and employment policies might be a worthwhile way to help keep your luck running.
By Jeff Borsecnik
Jeff Borsecnik, a former associate editor of Scrap, is now a writer in Seattle.
Soon after telling police about a coworker’s plan to steal an extension cord, a Wisconsin paper mill employee was beaten, fitted with a 50-pound neck weight, and dropped into vat of wood pulp. The half-dozen alleged murderous co-cospirators had reportedly sought ven-geance for his betrayal.
Toss this story in with similarly sensational blurbs about fast food restaurant and post office massacres and you can understand why workplace violence is getting a lot of press today.
And there’s substance behind the hysteria: Homicide is now the second-leading cause of workplace death in the United States, trailing only traffic accidents. Furthermore, for women, and for all workers in some states, it’s the number-one reason for on-the-job deaths.
Robbery is the primary motive behind workplace murder, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (Washington, D.C.), which has been studying workplace violence for the last decade. This certainly jibes with available statistics that show that most homicides and serious intentional injuries on the job are concentrated among a few high-risk occupations, like cab drivers, convenience store cashiers, and liquor store clerks. Still, NIOSH reports, “some homicides are caused by disgruntled workers and clients or by domestic violence that spills into the workplace.”
While it’s clear that the laid-off worker who visits vengeance with an assault rifle upon his former employer is rare, workplace violence as a whole—including “lesser” violence like sabotage or harassment, which can poison the workplace—isn’t so unusual. According to the December issue of the Employee Relations Law Journal, a Department of Justice report found that between 1987 and 1992 nearly a million U.S. workers were subject to violent attack annually. And a survey published in December 1993 by the Society of Human Resource Management (Alexandria, Va.) found that a third of all workplaces had experienced violent crime in the past five years.
Get out the figurative adding machine and start considering the potential costs of workplace violence—loss of employees, medical fees, physical plant damage, business disruption, legal liabilities, declining morale and productivity, and even public image problems—and you might conclude that it’s time to begin thinking about how to protect your company and workers from these threats.
Trouble Within: A Foul Brew
Marilyn L. Hau, president of M.L. Hau & Associates Inc. (Port Clinton, Ohio) and an occupational safety nurse and consultant on workplace violence, identifies three ingredients that typically mix to cause worker violence: a certain type of worker, the wrong company atmosphere, and a triggering event.
“Not every worker who gets fired will come back and shoot,” says Hau. “Most of us have methods to deal with crisis events.” But some people don’t, she says, sketching some of the characteristics of the violence-prone individual, who is usually male: He’s aggressive and tends to see problems as someone else’s fault. He may be fascinated with weapons. It’s likely that he identifies himself strongly with his job, and he may lack interests and support structures outside of work. (Other experts note that these traits can indeed act as warning signals, but caution employers not to rely on profiles in scrutinizing the potential for workplace violence.)
The “wrong workplace atmosphere,” says Hau, is uncaring, dictatorial, and disciplinary. It’s the kind of place that conveys a feeling that the worker is expendable, she explains.
Societal changes can add pressure to such an atmosphere, Hau notes. As an example, she points out that in the 1970s, there was a lot of talk about a four-day workweek, but workers today are asked to accomplish more with less resources, often with less pay and security. Additional pressures include pension fears, increasing incidence of adult baby-boomer workers supporting aging parents and under-employed college-educated children, prevalence of drugs, and an increasing tendency to use violence to solve problems, she says.
A changing employer/employee relationship can also make this brew more toxic, suggests workplace safety consultant Dennis A. Terpin, president of International Safety and Health Specialists (Naper-ville, Ill.). Today’s workers just don’t have the same respect for their companies as they used to, he explains, largely because employers are perceived as having little concern for the worker. To Terpin, the result has been a breakdown of a barrier that he feels has traditionally insulated the workplace from many of the troubles found at home or on the streets.
Knowing these realities, scrap recycling companies “need to do what they can to minimize stress,” suggests Robert Toth, human resources manager for Annaco Inc. (Akron). “Businesses are so oriented to the short term and the bottom line today,” he complains. “If you can’t see above the bottom line, you’ve got some problems.” Possible workplace palliatives include encouraging employees to apply their skills, giving them the opportunity to be creative, and helping them take some control over their workload and workplace, offers Hau.
As for the trigger that can eventually set someone off, it can be any of many things, Hau notes, such as a disciplinary measure meted out or even a medical exam that sends the employee back to work before he or she feels is appropriate following an illness or injury. Or it could be calamity at home, such as divorce or bankruptcy, she says.
Practical Violence Prevention
While no violence prevention plan is fail-safe, you can take simple steps to limit your risks—once you open your eyes. “Owners of companies should first of all understand this danger is real and it can happen in their workplace,” says Terpin. “We have found that the biggest obstacle is that management doesn’t believe it could happen at their facility.”
Put a Policy in Place. The first preventive measure is to have in place a written policy that clearly prohibits employees from using violence, including harassment and threatening behavior in addition to physical assault, the experts agree. “At a minimum, everybody should know what’s acceptable and what will not be tolerated,” says Toth, suggesting the document can be simple—a page or two along the lines of a sexual harassment policy. Enlisting workers in drafting the policy can help ensure that it is accepted and effective, he notes. Workplace authorities also recommend that the policy put employees on notice that they have a role in ensuring workplace safety for the greater good, which includes a duty to report threats. Supervisors, in particular, “often know a lot more than they let on,” says Toth, but getting employees to report threats of any sort may be a challenge. “The code of ‘nobody rats’ is tough—a hard nut to crack,” he says.
One method to encourage employees to follow the reporting policy is to establish an anonymous mechanism, such as a toll-free third-party phone service, which security consultants, police, or attorneys may be able to guide you to. Toth notes, however, that this route might not be anonymous enough for employees in a very small company or department.
Evaluate Threats. In many cases, says Hau, “the people who are going to commit a violent act are going to warn that they are going to do it. For instance, on the way out of the door they announce they will be back to get even or whatever.” So, don’t take threats lightly. While many muttered threats may just be hot air, for a “worker who has a history of aggression or who threatens openly, the threat has to be taken seriously,” says Toth. “The manager or supervisor has to do some sleuthing, be a detective” to determine whether there’s a need for action. Terpin adds to this thought, suggesting that “even a small company can set up a threat assessment team.”
Also be alert for other red flags—a streak of aggressive or agitated behavior, a terminated employee showing back up at the office, and the like. Alex Vaughn, editor of the newsletter Security Management Bulletin and a booklet titled “Preventing Workplace Violence,” both published by the Bureau of Business Practice (Waterford, Conn.), adds a scary footnote: “There have been a number of cases reported by psychologists and consultants in which an incident had a delayed-action fuse—a worker coming back a year later who had been laid off. Within the course of that year, other personal troubles could have set the person off.”
Implicit herein is a need for a predetermined course of action if a potential problem appears. In the case of troubled employees, large companies primarily use employee assistance programs for help, says Hau. “Smaller companies may need to look at community resources and have that information available in a desk drawer. [The employer’s job] is not to diagnose, but to recognize problems in job performance and have them seen by appropriate folks.” Other sources for help or referrals might be community service or mental health agencies, churches, or police departments.
Assess Security Risks and Controls. As part of the violence prevention process, it’s also important to consider what sorts of violent crime your company could face from internal or external threats, experts note. If you handle valuable material, you’re probably already alert to the risk of theft. But what about assault, harassment, or rape risks to employees? How about arson? Weigh in such factors as who has access to your facility and at what times of day and whether your employees handle cash or face customers while working alone.
Also, take a look at your neighborhood, suggests Terpin. “I look for things to happen in the workplace that are happening in the community,” he says, especially if you employ workers from nearby. One such source of trouble can be gang-related violence, which is no longer relegated to big cities. Gangs can present risks to workers and customers as well as physical property. Watch for graffiti as a possible sign of gang activity, suggests “Preventing Workplace Violence,” and keep employees informed if you suspect local gang activity.
The next logical step is to determine how your security systems and procedures match up against these risks. Are lights, alarms, and fences all up to snuff? Are keys carefully controlled? Is visitor access restricted to certain areas? Are employees handling cash in view of others and/or equipped to raise an alarm? Would your employees know how to respond to different types of emergencies?
In addition to internal plant security, don’t forget about your parking lot, which can pose risks to employees. Is the lot well-lit and visible from inside your offices and/or the plant grounds? If not, procedures like ensuring that employees are escorted to their cars at night by a security guard may be a good addition.
Finally, keep in mind company vehicles. Your employees—and company property—can be subject to violence on the road. Are two-way radios, locks, and emergency equipment in working order as a matter of course?
Hiring and Firing With Care
Careful hiring, of course, can also go a long way toward preventing violence in your work force. Detailed interviews, drug tests, and reference checks are de rigueur at companies that take this assignment seriously.
As part of this process, try to ascertain why the applicant left his or her former job, suggests Hau, and whether the former employer would rehire the individual. A probationary period for new hires or rehires is also a good idea because this makes it easier to remove the early troublemaker.
Be forewarned, though, that there are many legal limits on collection and use of what may seem like relevant information. For example, denying employment to an applicant because he or she has a history of psychiatric problems that have been treated could violate the Americans With Disabilities Act. Requirements in the National Labor Relations Act can also govern your hiring decisions, as well as your response to violence in the workplace.
On the other hand, if you decide to stay clear of trying to cut your risk of workplace violence through hiring because of the possible legal implications, Hau points out that you should keep in mind the “doctrine of negligent hiring,” a legal concept under which an employer might be found liable for violence caused by a worker whose background suggests he really shouldn’t have been hired in the first place. In any case, this messy area may require review by your attorney.
Hiring Temps. In addition to tailoring your hiring practices with violence prevention in mind, it’s critical that you not let the convenience of temporary workers blindside you. After all, asks Terpin, who does the background checks on these people before you put them to work in your facility? Are you willing to delegate that authority to an agency? Toth answers: “You can’t be a responsible owner or manager and hire people that way. You need to screen these people first, even if a temp agency already has. If I just talk with an agency and say, ‘Send me a couple of warm bodies,’ that’s just what I’ll get.”
Firing Workers. It’s also important to take special care in firing or laying off workers, handling this as humanely as possible to cushion the blow. “It’s certainly critical that you maintain the person’s self-respect and dignity,” advises Hau. If you can, also offer counseling or job-search support to the employee, she says.
Furthermore, exit interviews, perhaps involving a written statement from the worker on whether or not he feels he has been treated fairly, can help identify workers who need extra support as well as warn of problems that could come back to haunt you.
Workplace Violence: An OSHA Issue?
Over the past several years, OSHA has issued “about 10 citations” against employers who failed to protect employees from workplace violence, says Patricia Biles, coordinator of OSHA’s workplace violence program.
Although there are no specific safety standards governing workplace violence prevention, the agency acted in these cases under the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s general duty clause, which requires employers to provide a safe and healthy workplace. In each of these cases, which were brought in a variety of industries in the wake of filed complaints, violence occurred at facilities with a track record of trouble that the employer had done nothing to correct, Biles explains.
Enforcement actions aside, OSHA’s emphasis on workplace violence has been to study the problem and begin to develop guidance for employers. The agency already has put together violence prevention guidelines specific to the health care industry and is considering broad guidelines for general industry. OSHA is also preparing to advise small businesses on how to prevent workplace violence through its state program consultation services.
Several state agencies have also targeted workplace violence, mainly in specific, high-risk industries, like convenience stores. California’s Department of Industrial Relations Division of Occupational Safety and Health, however, has issued violence prevention guidelines for all industries as part of an 18-month project to evaluate workplace violence. —J.B. •
Violence in the workplace is widespread today. Even if your company has never suffered any incidents, an open-eyed review of your security and employment policies might be a worthwhile way to help keep your luck running.