I’ve held off writing about this topic waiting
for the appropriate time, which seems may never be. Prayers are offered to the
victims of the senseless violence that has been taking place all too often. Public
spaces and, sadly, places of worship have become unsafe. We have to be alert
and on guard at all times, no matter where we go. The intent of the article
began as a response to the sexual harassment accusations surfacing in the
entertainment industry. Then a man shot several people at business locations in
Maryland and Delaware. And the horrific murders in a Texas church. Every week
brings more of these stories in the news. Staying on topic I’d like to speak
about the hostile work environments caused by both violence and harassment. This article is posted with all due respect and prayers for the victims of recent violence.
The workplace environment can be unsafe or hostile for
several reasons. When the term, workplace safety, is used the first thought
goes to accidents and hazards, which are some of the leading causes of injury
and death. There can also be violent physical attacks against the business or
the employees. Probably the most overlooked is the environment itself which can
be toxic because of sexual harassment, bullying, or mistreatment.
Hostility does not necessarily have to result in violence or
injury. Many workers fear the workplace due to environments created due to
sexual harassment and bullying. A survey conducted by the Rand Corp., Harvard
Medical School, and the University of California, Los Angeles determined that
one-fifth of Americans find the workplace environment to be hostile.
Harassment
This type of workplace hostility has come to the forefront
with the revelations playing out in the entertainment industry. Everyday more
victims are coming forward and not only in that specific industry. The
celebrity victims have empowered women and men across all industries to come
forward. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines sexual
harassment as:
unwelcome sexual
advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment
of a sexual nature and also can include offensive remarks about a person’s sex
(male/female/orientation). Harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or
severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment. Both victim and
the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be
the same sex. The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in
another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer,
such as a client or customer.
The EEOC reported 28, 216 incidents of harassment in 2016
with 6,758 of those being sexual harassment incidents. These numbers do not
include charges filed with state or local agencies.
Employers are responsible for providing a safe workplace.
This goes well beyond ensuring the physical location is safe and employees are
trained in the performance of their duties. Employers are also charged with
providing a safe and healthy work environment. This starts with the owners and
managers and how they conduct themselves. They must be held to the company
standard and train employees on how to make an inclusive workspace.
Training and education of employees should be held at
regular intervals. Ensure all employees are made aware that any type of
harassment will not be tolerated. All reports must be taken seriously and
employees must feel that they can make reports against any employee or
supervisor without fear of retaliation. Which itself is a crime.
Violence
Workplace violence can be more than employees returning to
work and shooting co-workers. Violence can manifest itself in many forms. The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines workplace violence
as:
any act or threat
of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive
behavior that occurs at the work site. It ranges from threats and verbal abuse
to physical assaults and even homicide. It can affect and involve employees,
clients, customers and visitors. Homicide is currently the fourth-leading cause
of fatal occupational injuries in the United States.
Following the above definition,
OSHA reports over two million incidents of workplace violence every year, with
many cases unreported. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were
over 400 workplace homicides in 2015. However, that number does not
differentiate between being a victim as a result of the job or the victim of an
attack, i.e.-Killed during a robbery of the business v. killed during an attack
on the workplace. With this broad definition and the way statistics are
captured it is hard to differentiate the specific acts of violence, how they
occurred, and against whom. The point being, the workplace can be a dangerous
place. Not just physical violence, but less graphic acts of violence can occur
as well.
In August 2017, a Sterling, VA
woman was convicted and sentenced to three and half years in jail for poisoning
co-workers. An investigation into why co-workers had become ill after drinking
coffee from the break room machine revealed that the coffee had been tainted.
The woman later admitted that she had poured Windex, Ajax, and soap into the
coffee machine water tank in an effort to make her supervisor sick. She also
admitted to putting cleaning products directly into her supervisor’s coffee
cup.
Small business owners have to realize that a violent act can
happen anywhere to any type of business. Whether it is a disgruntled employee
or customer, or the perpetrator just chooses the business for the act, a
violent attack can happen anywhere. Therefore, workplace violence is
everybody’s problem. More importantly, prevention is everyone’s responsibility.
Awareness and Prevention
FBI studies have concluded that individuals do not
"snap" and suddenly become violent without an antecedent or perceived
provocation. Instead, the path to violence is an evolutionary one. There are
subtle indicators of the potential for violence. The trick is being aware
enough to detect the indicators.
Prevention is everyone’s responsibility. From top to bottom.
Every employee must feel that it is there responsibility to protect the
workplace. Employers/managers have to know their employees and the atmosphere
of the workplace. Watch for changes in behavior and disruptions. Monitor the
post disruption atmosphere.
As with harassment issues training is paramount. Make
employees feel safe in reporting potential threats. Drill them on how to handle and respond to incidents. Review
company policies. Practice what if scenarios.
Being aware of the possibilities is a good first step to a
safe workplace. The weekly incidents in the news show us that we cannot hide
our heads in the sand any longer. But being aware is not enough. Business
owners have to take the initiative to make changes and educate their employees.
Please feel to free any post. See the blog archive for other
posts regarding workplace safety.
