The Importance of Workplace Violence Training
Workplace violence training was created to help both employers and employees deal with the growing issue of workplace violence and create a dialogue about the shared responsibility of maintaining a safe environment. Workplace Violence injures or kills employees, damages morale, creates legal and medical expenses, disrupts business and damages reputation. Workplace violence training for employees will help supervisors and employees learn to identify early warning signs in behavior and language that can potentially escalate into violence and provide guidance if a violent incident occurs.
The impact of workplace violence on employers cannot be precisely measured, but its obvious impact includes a reduction in the workforce due to injuries or death, and the cost to repair or reconstruct physical damage incurred on workplace property. Employers also face an increase in workers’ compensation payments and medical expenses and exposure to potential liability for their failure to maintain a safe and secure workplace. With all these factors to consider, training to identify and prevent potential workplace violence issues is a small price to pay.
Learning Objectives for workplace violence training include:
- Techniques to stop escalating situations
- Identifying early signs and symptoms of domestic violence and other contributing factors
- Security procedures to ensure the safety of employees during violent situations
- Understand that workplace violence goes beyond active shooters
- Sharpen your awareness to potential threats
If employers do not have established policies prohibiting weapons and threatening behavior in the workplace, they are vulnerable. Employees need to believe that their reports will be taken seriously and handled in a timely manner. They should also have confidence that their identities won’t be divulged unnecessarily. Employees don’t always need to know what action is taken, just that action was taken. If workers lack confidence in management to handle a threatening situation or to report such incidents, management may want to appoint an HR representative or a more senior person that will be well versed in these areas to help mitigate these concerns. Whatever method they choose, businesses must ensure that employees understand that they too must respond immediately and diligently if they perceive a threat. Safety is a team effort.
