Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Workplace Safety


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.


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