Job violence is an act of hostility or threat in a work setting among colleagues. In a broader perspective, it is as well considered as a difference in types of behaviors that result in violence or causing safety concerns as noted by Purpora and Blegen (2015). As a consequence, violence spans over various forms of abuse which range from verbal to physical.
Types of Widespread Violence and the Type of Industries Violence Is a Regular Occurrence
Bowling and Beehr (2006) postulate that many people think of workplace violence only as a physical assault; nonetheless, job violence is a broader concern which falls into four different categories.
Type I: Criminal intent. The perpetrators of this kind of violence are said to have no legitimate connection to the organization as well as its workers. However, it is incidental to some other crimes, for instance, shoplifting, robbery, trespassing among other different offenses of the same kind.
Type II: Customer/client. In case a violent individual has a lawful association with an organization, such as clients, students, inmates or customers, such violence is categorized as type II.
Type III: Worker-on-worker. This type of violence occurs when a worker or former employee of an organization act violently towards other workers or former employees in a work setting.
Type IV: Personal relationship. In this case, there is no legal relationship between the perpetrator and the business; however, there is a personal relationship that subsists between the perpetrator and the potential victim. Mostly this type of violence is composed of victims of domestic violence that are often assaulted in the workplace (Bowling " Beehr, 2006).
The above types of violence involve threatening behavior; for example, destruction of property, shaking fists and throwing objects. Also, there are verbal and written intimidations that include any form of expression of intent to cause harm. There is harassment which consists of any behavior that tends to demean, annoys, verbally abuse, embarrass or humiliate an individual. Such is caused by words, intimidation, inappropriate behaviors, and gestures as well as bullying. There is also
verbal abuse which is done through insults, swearing, and arrogance. Lastly, there are physical attacks which include kicking, hitting, pushing, among others (Cole et al., 1997).
Health-care and social workers have a significant risk of experiencing workplace violence (Purpora " Blegen, 2015). There is banking industry which involves the exchange of money hence prone to robbery. Besides, transport industry, mainly taxi services and public transport, are prone to workplace violence because they involve working in areas with high crime rates, working late night and alone and consist of the exchange of money. Furthermore, security sector does experience a high rate of job violence, for instance, police and soldiers (Purpora " Blegen, 2015).
All the same Kristen, Banuelos andUrban (2015) argue that job-related violence is not restricted to events which take place within the conventional workplace. Still, job-related violence can occur at off-site work-related events such as trade shows and events and client’s home but have their origin from work. For instance, there can be a threatening call made by a customer to a worker’s home.
Create Strategies That Can Prevent Violence in Such Situations
Employee verification. As crucial as thorough vetting can be during the process of hiring, rescreening and re-vetting are indeed equally important and much less frequent. Employers should gather payroll list every month to screen them for any criminal conviction as well as other red flags (Purpora " Blegen, 2015). Besides, employers should put in place programs that enable them to review workers social media profiles at a given intervals.
Policies and reprisal. Employers are required to come up with clear and succinct policies that stipulate a zero tolerance for job violence. Employers are encouraged to establish written documents specifying these regulations so that every employee and client is aware of the policies (Purpora " Blegen, 2015).
Brief supervisor interview. Employers and responsible departments such as Human Resource should often carry out brief supervision interview not only asking about the performance of employees but also their personality traits which their supervisor seems to be concerned about.
Working conditions. Organizations should be sensitive working environment as well as the outcome of the established laws regarding employee treatment and unfairness. Learn to acknowledge and respond to early signals of probable problems due to personnel changes, awaiting decisions as well as business changes.
Train leading employees. Frontline employees such as receptionists are offered training to enable them to be on the lookout for disconcerting encounters. Give clear instructions on how such issues should be handled and train workers to know when and how to keep in touch with police (Purpora " Blegen, 2015).
Type of Communication and Training That an Organization Should Consider As Preventive Measure
Holding team meetings. Communication is a primary element in putting a stop to workplace violence. The perpetrators of violence prosper in silence from the casualties and the witnesses. Thus, organizations should motivate employees to communicate through holding regular team meetings and talk about job violence (Purpora " Blegen, 2015). Such meetings assist in neutralizing tension as well as a misunderstanding by resolving any likelihood of violence.
Set up an approach which is both holistic and ongoing. Many organizations have programs which they assume are useful however they appear to be worse than not having any at all. In order to prevent workplace violence, there should be holistic and ongoing communication which is a process and not a detached event or just one season of training. Regular communication which involves face to face, written among others types should be encouraged in an organization to enable victims report cases of violence.
Conclusion
The fact is that anybody is susceptible to encountering violence at their job. Irrespective of working environment anybody is prone to workplace violence. It is imperative to be aware of appropriate responses to take in a dangerous situation and people should know that homicidal behavior of workers regarding job violence is avoidable.
References
Bowling, N. A., " Beehr, T. A. (2006). Workplace harassment from the victim’s perspective: A theoretical model and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(5), 998-1012.
Cole, L. L., Grubb, P. L., Sauter, S. L., Swanson, N. G., " Lawless, P. (1997). Psychosocial correlates of harassment, threats, and fear of violence in the workplace. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment " Health, 23(6), 450-457.
Kristen, E., Banuelos, B., " Urban, D. (2015). Workplace violence and harassment of low- wage workers. Berkeley J. Emp. " Lab. L., 36, 169.
Purpora, C., " Blegen, M. A. (2015). Job satisfaction and horizontal violence in hospital staff registered nurses: The mediating role of peer relationships. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 24(15-16), 2286-2294.
