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This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.
Workplace violence can take many forms. It can be anything from the jerk in your office who intentionally intimidates coworkers to an active shooter. Being confronted with workplace violence can be a traumatic experience at best and a life-threatening situation in the most serious examples.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that approximately two million people are victims of workplace violence every year in the United States. The signs that you may be at risk include having a coworker who has:
- Angry outbursts
- An obsession with weapons
- Constant blaming of others
- Numerous grudges
- An intimidating demeanor
Most of us have dealt with a coworker like this at one time or another, and it can be difficult to know how to deal with it. At one of my jobs, I worked with a woman who openly talked in the office about driving around with a loaded gun in her lap looking for people to shoot. We fired her the next day and then spent the next week wondering if she’d come back to shoot us.
Scenarios like this are all too common today in the U.S. It is in every worker’s best interest to learn how to recognize the signs of workplace violence, how to respond to it, and what can be done to prevent it.
How to Respond to Workplace Violence
If someone is getting violent at your place of employment or a situation seems to be escalating, the first thing you’ll want to remember is now is not the time to confront them. Only employees who have been specifically trained to de-escalate violence should attempt to intervene. If a situation can’t be avoided, you should:
- Stay calm
- Do not do anything that will increase the person’s rage
- Do not argue with the person, even if they’re baiting you
- Do not respond to any threats they make
- Do not go to another location with the person, especially not to a place where there are no witnesses
In the most extreme cases, if you feel that your coworkers’ lives are in immediate danger, you may need to break all of these rules by screaming and alerting others that they should run or hide.
Reporting Workplace Violence
It’s important to know your company’s policy with regard to reporting workplace violence because any act of violence must be reported immediately. Reporting a potential threat now could save your life or someone else’s life later on.
If your work’s policy on violence doesn’t include language that protects workers from retaliation, you should bring it up with your human resources department so the policy can be updated. Employees need to be free from the fear of retaliation or else fewer incidents will be reported, which could lead to a tragedy.
How Workplace Violence Can Be Prevented
You can lower your risk of workplace violence by taking the following steps. Doing everything you can to stop violence before it happens is the best way to have a safe workplace.
- Make sure your workplace culture is the best it can be
- Have a clear workplace violence policy
- Create a plan of action for what steps to take if violence happens
- Offer communication training
- Understand what factors can contribute to violence in your industry
If you’ve been injured during an act of workplace violence and you feel like your company could have prevented it, you may want to contact an injury lawyer. If you’re worried you are at risk for violence at your job, it’s time to go to human resources. You can ask not to work with potentially dangerous individuals, and in fact, you should demand it.
Workers Comp and Workplace Violence
Acts of workplace violence that take place during the course of your employment duties are generally covered under workers’ compensation insurance. This is the case whether the act of violence took place on the company’s premises or elsewhere. However, there are circumstances where damages from an act of violence may not be covered.
When two employees fight for personal reasons, it most likely won’t be covered by workers comp. Depending on the laws in the state where you live, you may also have to prove that the act of violence occurred as a direct result of the risks involved with their job. You can visit baderlaw.com to learn more about workers’ compensation and the law.
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This content is brought to you by Cheryl Roy.
Photo: Shutterstock
