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Violence on the w orkp lace and its imp act on Human Resou rces Man agemen t
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Index
1 2 What is violence on Workplace? ......................................................................... 4 Types of workplace violence ............................................................................... 4 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3 4 5 The Criminal Type ........................................................................................ 4 The Customer/Client Type ............................................................................ 5 The Employee on Employee Type ................................................................ 5 The Domestic Type ....................................................................................... 5
Who is vulnerable? .............................................................................................. 6 Causes for Workplace Violence .......................................................................... 7 Management of Workplace Violence .................................................................. 8 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Workplace violence policy statement ........................................................... 8 Pre-employment screening ............................................................................ 9 Identifying problem situations of current employees.................................... 9 Survey and measures ..................................................................................... 9 Training ....................................................................................................... 10
6 5 6
Index of Figures
Figure 4.1 reasons and impacts von violence (Mathis, 2008, p. 479) ......................... 7
Index of Tables
Table 3.1 Development of the number of workplace violence victims 1991 2008 ... 6
This type of violence accounts for the vast majority nearly 80 percent of workplace homicides. The motive in these incidents is mostly theft or robbery and in many cases the criminal is carrying a weapon. This circumstance increases the likelihood that the victim will be killed or seriously wounded. (U.S. Department of Justice, 2004, p. 13)
3 Who is vulnerable?
For example about 327.000 workers (1.4 percent) in England are victims of workplace violence. This strikes 1.3 percent of the female and 1.5 percent of male workers. Regarding to this, workplace violence is still a problem in our current working environment. (British Crime Survey, 2008, p. 9) Workplace violence can strike anywhere and no one is immune. It concerns especially workers who exchange money with the public, work alone, work during late night hours, in high-crime areas or in community settings and homes. (OSHA, 2002, p. 1) According to the British Crime Survey the number of victims of violence at work has fallen by 45 percent since 1997 (as shown in table 3.1).
Table 3.1 Development of the number of workplace violence victims 1991 2008 (British Crime Survey, 2008, p. 8)
This development traces back to the improved violence prevention measures of British companies. This show how important the introduction and advancement of violence prevention measures is. (British Crime Survey, 2008, p. 8)
Employer issues Employee psychological problems Cultural issues in society Economic stresses
It is soften the case that violence that begins at home with the family can spill over to the workplace. An employer must not ignore signs of domestic violence. Some employers have been sued and found liable for ignoring pleas for help from employees who later are victims of domestic violence. (Mathis, 2008, p. 478)
Figure 4.1 reasons and impacts von violence (Mathis, 2008, p. 479)
5.5 Training
Managers, HR staff, supervisors and employees should be trained for different situations like how to handle a possible violent employee or how to react in cause of violence on workspace. (Mathis, 2008, p. 479)
6 Conclusion
According to the findings made during research violence on the workplace is a serious issue. The employer has to provide a safe work environment as possible and react immediately when first signs of violence or abuse occur in the company. Otherwise the employer will have to face serious lawsuits if incidents should happen. Therefore the human resource managers or departments have to take this issue seriously and implement rules and policies that prevent violence on the workplace. It is also in their responsibility to provide a working atmosphere where bullying or other aggressive behavior has no chance to occur. This includes also special training in preventing and handling of violence for managers, supervisors and employees.
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References
(British Crime Survey, 2009) Buckley, P. (2009). Violence at Work: Findings from the 2008/09 British Crime Survey. London: Health and Safety Executive. (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009) Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2003). Workplace Violence: Issues in Response. Quantico: U.S. Department of Justice. (Mathis, 2008) Mathis, R. L. (2008). Human Resource Management (Vol. 12). Mason: Thomson Learning, Inc. (OSHA, 2002) Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2002). Factsheet: Workplace Violence. Washington: U.S. Department of Labor. (Paludi, 2006) Paludi, M. A. (2006). Understanding workplace violence: a guide for managers and employees. Westport: Praeger publishers.
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Internet References
(Employee Rights, 2010) Yancey Thomas Jr., you-can-lear-basic-employee-rights.com (2010-9-28) http://www.you-can-learn-basic-employee-rights.com/ (HRM, 2002) Department of Human Resource Management, Virginia (2010-9-28) http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/hrpolicy/policy/pol180_wpviolence.pdf
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