Of all the things that can happen in a workplace, violence is the most destructive and worrisome. Even incidents that don’t result in severe physical harm indicate a serious problem with organizational culture and staff behavior. And the impact on morale, productivity, retention, and hiring can be severe and lasting. For all these reasons and more, employers must proactively address workplace violence prevention both subtlety and directly.

Recognizing The Financial Impact

To be sure, the biggest danger associated with workplace violence is its potential to inflict physical harm and mental health repercussions on employees, customers, and anyone else affected by incidents.

But there’s typically a negative financial impact on employers as well. Following incidents of violence, employers usually incur high legal costs and often need to invest more heavily in security. Workplace violence also can lead to reduced productivity, elevated turnover, higher health care costs, and inflated workers’ compensation and disability insurance premiums.

Identifying Every Possibility

As you’re no doubt aware, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to provide a workplace free from hazards that could cause harm or death, including violence. Some states and localities have related laws.

Thus, your organization’s leadership needs to continuously look for and identify threats most likely to affect your workplace. Remember that perpetrators aren’t always current employees. Violence might be committed by others who have a current or past relationship with your company — for example, contractors, customers, or former employees. Or it may occur in conjunction with another criminal act, such as theft or vandalism.

Violent behavior can also be directed toward one of your workers by someone unassociated with your organization but whom they know, such as an angry spouse or a current or former romantic partner.

Fortifying Your Defenses

Among the best ways to manage the risk of workplace violence is to regularly conduct threat assessments. If your organization lacks the resources to do this, consider engaging a qualified security consultant. The right consultant can complete a comprehensive, formal threat assessment, as well as work with you to identify and undertake specific steps to reduce situations that typically lead to violence.

For instance, you might need to upgrade physical security systems. This may include installing locks and fences, deploying guards, and implementing ID badges to stop those looking to inflict harm from gaining access. In addition, if you haven’t already, you could install web-based cameras and let everyone on premises know that their actions won’t go unobserved or unrecorded.

Whether or not you work with a security consultant, you should implement a workplace violence prevention policy that includes employee training and ways to report toxic behavior and potentially violent situations. The policy should prohibit weapons in the workplace and clarify that you reserve the right to search workspaces, lockers, and other areas.

Just as important are hiring processes that better safeguard a nonhostile work environment. Start by screening job candidates and running background checks to identify those with histories of violence and other criminal activity. (Work with your attorney to help ensure background checks and employment verifications comply with applicable laws).

Finally, explore fringe benefits that can help lower the likelihood that stress, conflicts, and outside pressures drive employees to commit violence. Many employers are investing more heavily in well-being benefits such as Employee Assistance Programs, flexible paid time off policies, and training related to mental health and financial literacy.

Staying Vigilant

Workplace violence is a worst-case scenario for employers. By staying vigilant, you can address high-risk situations more readily. Contact us for help identifying and managing all the costs associated with maintaining a safe working environment.