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

Emergency Management

The emergency planning for workplace violence should aim to:

• Decrease the degree of risk to lives, property and the environment
• Manage any incident and lessen its impact on the workplace, and
• Use as the basis for the training for people involved in any emergency at the workplace

Worker Assistance Programs

Worker assistance forms part of the immediate response and recovery phase to lessen the effects of trauma.

Workers should know the authority in charge of violent incidents.

It should provide swift professional counseling and support.

General arrangements such as providing a safe place to retreat to, controlling media access to

the workers, communicating with families and arranging transport home are also vital to lessen pressure on workers.

F. THIRD PHASE: AFTER – RECOVERY AND REVIEW

This phase is necessary to restore the work processes, return things to normal as soon as possible and provide support and counseling to workers to minimize the impact of the incident. In this phase, review violent incidents to identify areas in need of improvement should take place.

Recovery is the phase where reorganization and reconstruction occurs. There is resumption of normal operations after a violent incident occurred.

Steps should be taken to make the workplace safe. First aid and medical assistance
Should be arranged and the support for concerned workers be provided.

Establishing control in the workplace.

The recovery phase should focus on workers who return to daily routines as quickly as possible after the violent incident. In this phase, agreed plans should be immediately and efficiently implemented to minimize risks of long-term hazardous effects.

The following actions are necessary part of the phase:

• Give clear information to all workers
• Provide continuous professional counseling and support services for workers and families
• Give workers time to recover, but encourage them to return to work as part of the

recovery process.

• Provide legal advice and workers compensation arrangements
• Investigate the matter and evaluate safety management to lessen the risk of injury or harm in the future

SAMPLE WORKPLACE VIOLENCE CHECKLIST

This checklist can be used as a guide to aid in determining potentially violent situations and to review and improve safety procedures. Tick the appropriate response.

A response in a shaded box indicates that the issue should be assessed and controlled.

PART A: Hazard identification checklist

1. The Work Environment

• Are money/valuables/drugs kept at the workplace? Yes No
• Does the workplace provide a customer or client service? Yes No
• Do staff work alone or at night? Yes No
• Are violent incidents fairly common in your industry or area? Yes No
• Is it easy to enter the workplace unnoticed? Yes No
• Does the workplace have:
• Low lighting or dark areas? Yes No
• Irritating or high noise levels? Yes No
• Inadequate space for staff and clients/customers? Yes No
• Inadequate barriers between staff and clients? Yes No
• Furnishings or equipment that could be used as weapons? Yes No

2. Clients/customers

• Are customers or clients likely to become angry or disgruntled? Yes No
• Are clients likely to be affected by drugs or alcohol? Yes No
• Are clients/patients likely to suffer from mental illness? Yes No
• Do inexperienced workers deal with potentially difficult clients? Yes No
• Are procedures available for referring clients to other services for Yes No
• psychiatric, drug, alcohol and behavioral reasons?
• Are clients made aware of what is expected of them
  regarding their conduct at the workplace? Yes No

3. Workers

• Are staff relationships frequently tense? Yes No
• Are certain workers likely to become violent? Yes No
• Are certain workers likely to use abusive language? Yes No
• Are workers stressed, unhappy or bored at work? Yes No
• Are personal difficulties becoming a problem at work? Yes No
• Is prejudice or intolerance displayed at the workplace? Yes No
• Are initiation ceremonies or bullying accepted practice
  amongst workers? Yes No

4. Training

Have workers who may be exposed to workplace violence received the following training:

• Legal responsibilities? Yes No
• How to recognize potentially violent behavior? Yes No
• Causes and types of violence? Yes No
• Client Service skills? Yes No
• Negotiation skills? Yes No
• Communication skills? Yes No
• Security procedures? Yes No
• Basic self-defence? Yes No
• Incident reporting and recording? Yes No
• Emergency and response procedures? Yes No
• Worker assistance programs? Yes No

5. Procedures

• Is there an agreed response plan for violent situations? Yes No
• Are there written procedures for the following:
• Cash handling? Yes No
• Securing the premises? Yes No
• Safe storage of personal property? Yes No
• Handling disputes involving clients? Yes No
• Responding to alarms? Yes No
• Reporting violent incidents? Yes No

6. Communication

• Can workers communicate effectively with clients/customers Yes No
• to diffuse potentially violent situations?
• Are field workers or persons working alone able to call Yes No
• for help quickly in an emergency?
• Are mobile phones, intercoms, duress alarms and beepers Yes No
• available and in good working order?
• Are emergency telephone numbers prominently displayed Yes No
• or on automatic dial?

7. Security
Does the premises have:

• Duress alarms at counter areas and in interview rooms? Yes No
• Monitoring and surveillance systems? Yes No
• Fire alarms and sprinkler systems? Yes No
• Firefighting equipment meeting current regulations? Yes No
• Security screens and doors? Yes No
• Master key locking systems? Yes No
• Outdoor security lights triggered to operate after dark? Yes No
• Hidden safes? Yes No
• Interview Rooms with two exits? Yes No
• Staff only exits from office areas? Yes No
• Parking facilities which are close by, well lit and Yes No
• with minimal shrubbery?

PART B: Post Incident Checklist

Did the procedure for reporting the violent incident include a description of:

• The type of incident (e.g. verbal, physical, sexual,
  armed hold-up, bomb or death threat) Yes No
• Nature and extent of injuries, if any? Yes No
• Time and location, including whether it was on call-out? Yes No
• Who was involved (e.g. client and staff member) Yes No
• Was the immediate response procedure correctly followed? Yes No
• Were police/other emergency services promptly called? Yes No
• Was first aid immediately available if required? Yes No
• Was the incident discussed with employees afterwards? Yes No
• Was a worker assistance/counseling service provided if needed? Yes No
• Were workers able to return to normal duties soon after the incident? Yes No