Possible Solutions to the Impact of Violence/Abuse in a workplace

It can be gleaned from above scenario that violence can be a significant workplace hazard. It may cause physical and psychological harm and may result in permanent disability and even death to the person

Workplace violence could translate to direct and indirect costs for the organization.

Aside from the financial costs incurred due to absenteeism, lost productivity, more insurance premiums, medical expenses and mending damage to property, a more serious cost comes in the form of emotional trauma experienced by the victims and their families.

The reaction of individuals depends to a large extent on the nature of the incident, the workers, own experiences, skills and personality, and the extent to which they are directly or indirectly involved. Some common reactions associated with workplace violence are:

• Body changes brought about by distress, such as palpitation, increased breathing rate, muscle tension and nausea
• Rage, dissent and frustration
• Feelings of not in control
• Anxiety and shock
• ?Guilt and embarrassment
• Irritability and inability to concentrate
• ?Sleeplessness and nightmares after the event
• ?Fear of going back to the workplace

It is vital to know these signs/reactions immediately after the violent event to prevent the situation from becoming worse.

How to Manage Workplace Violence

It is necessary to develop strategies in coping with workplace violence for each of the three phases: before, during and after, an event.

D.Prevention

After taking a wide consideration and a broad research on the instigators, causes and effects of workplace violence at my job side, I decided to focus on how we can prevent workplace violence from occurring and avoid all these death and costs it brings to our businesses and organizations.

Considering the results of several studies conducted on workplace violence, it is noted that rash decisions and sudden reactions lead to more grave consequences and sufferings. Workplace violence could lead to injuries, pain and worse, death, if not addressed. The best solution to workplace violence is prevention. Preventing before it occurs. Or, in curbing tendencies and circumstances that instigate workplace violence.

Having a reliable prevention plan in place is the most important action that a company could undertake. It is also the least expensive part any agency’s workplace violence program (OSHA, 2006).

A documented plan designed to pro-actively manage violence at work should be prepared with the help of the workers and representatives from health and safety. The following Steps must form part of an effective WorkplaceViolence Management Plan:

Hazard identification: This step requires identifying situations that may subject workers and visitors to the workplace to workplace violence.

Step 1: How to identify hazards

It is difficult to know the reason for a violent outburst, but there are common factors applicable to a workplace. Violence at work may occur due to: