Preventing Workplace Violence
No one likes to think about workplace violence, but it can and does occur.
An effective workplace violence prevention effort starts with employee screening and ends with a well-publicized anti-violence policy, says Dennis A. Davis, director of client training for an employment law firm. He said tough economic times can make the work setting ripe for violent outbursts.
Davis told the BusinessManagementDaily.com website that the best way to keep violence out of the workplace is to not hire anyone prone to violence in the first place. Request personal and professional references. Do a face-to-face interview. Ask everyone who comes in contact with a potential hire about their impressions.
He also stresses the importance of setting up a crisis management team - six to eight individuals from HR, security, legal and senior management functions who can serve as incident managers.
Eight warning signs of violent employee behavior, according to Davis, are:
• Fascination with weapons
• Substance abuse
• Severe stress
• A history of violence
• Decreased or inconsistent productivity
• Poor peer connections
• Poor personal hygiene
• Drastic personality changes
Anyone who comes into contact with the public first, such as a receptionist, should be trained to be on alert for anything out of the ordinary, said Davis. "These people are your eyes and ears, your early warning system," he said.
A firm's anti-violence policy needs to be strong and stand on its own, not be crafted as part of a misuse of office equipment policy, for example, said Davis.
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