4. Defining violence in the workplace The nature and extent of your organization’s workplace violence program should be based on the results of the initial risk assessment. First, evaluate past incidents of violence or possible violence (they may not have been classified as “violence”). For example you may not have considered the threatening phone call from an estranged spouse to an employee a “violent incident,” but it was. It can be helpful when identifying risks in your organization to know that violence is usually classified into three categories, each type requiring different interventions and with different risk factors. Type I - Criminal Act. This type of violence involves verbal threats, threatening behavior or physical assaults by an assailant who has no legitimate business relationship to the workplace. The person enters the workplace to commit a robbery or other criminal act. Violence by strangers accounts for most of the fatalities related to workplace violence. Workplaces at risk of violence by strangers commonly include late night retail establishments and taxi cabs. Road rage is becoming more common as a possible source of Type I violence affecting workers who drive as a part of their job. Risk Factors: Type II - Recipient of Service. The person causing violence is either recipient or object of a service provided by workplace. He/she is a current or former client, passenger, or customer. Type II violence involves verbal threats, threatening behavior or physical assaults by an assailant who either receives services from or is under the custodial supervision of the affected workplace or the victim. Assailants can be current or former customers and clients such as passengers, patients, students, inmates, criminal suspects or prisoners. The workers typically provide direct services to the public, for example, municipal bus or railway drivers, health care and social service providers, teachers and sales personnel. Law enforcement personnel are also at risk of assault from individuals over whom they exert custodial supervision. Violence by customers or clients may occur on a daily basis in certain industries; they represent the majority of non-fatal injuries related to workplace violence. Risk Factors:

17. PRACTICE ACTIVITY Read the scenario below and complete the assignment. The incident An employee called a member of the company crisis team for advice, saying that a coworker was picking on her, and expressing fear that something serious might happen. For several weeks, she said, a coworker has been making statements such as, "You actually took credit for my work and you're spreading rumors that I'm no good. If you ever get credit for my work again, that will be the last time you take credit for anybody's work. I'll make sure of that." She also said that her computer files have been altered on several occasions and she suspects it's the same coworker. When she reported the situation to her supervisor, he tried to convince her that there was no real danger and that she's blowing things out of proportion. However, she continued to worry. She said she spoke with her union representative who suggested she contact the agency's workplace violence team. What level of investigation would you conduct in response to this incident? Would you get assistance from the EAP? Would you get the police involved? Justify your answers. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

18. Let's continue our look at the scenario. Read the “Actions to Date” and complete the assignment. An employee called a member of the company crisis team for advice, saying that a coworker was picking on her, and expressing fear that something serious might happen. For several weeks, she said, a coworker has been making statements such as, "You actually took credit for my work and you're spreading rumors that I'm no good. If you ever get credit for my work again, that will be the last time you take credit for anybody's work. I'll make sure of that." She also said that her computer files have been altered on several occasions and she suspects it's the same coworker. When she reported the situation to her supervisor, he tried to convince her that there was no real danger and that she's blowing things out of proportion. However, she continued to worry. She said she spoke with her union representative who suggested she contact the agency's workplace violence team. ACTIONS TO DATE: The agency's response plan calls for involvement of Employee Relations, Security and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in cases involving threats. Immediately following the report to the response team, the Security Officer contacted the female employee to assist her in filing a police report on the threat and to discuss safety measures that she should be taking. The victim was also referred to the EAP, where she received brief counseling and educational materials on handling severe stress. An investigation was immediately conducted by an investigator from the security department. In her statement, the female employee repeated what she had reported to the supervisor earlier about the threat. In his statement, the male employee stated that, on the day in question, he had been upset about what he felt were some underhanded activities by the female employee and his only recollection about the conversation was that he made a general statement like, "You'll pay," to her. He stated that this was not a threat, just an expression. The investigation showed that the employee had several previous incidents of intimidating behavior which had resulted in disciplinary actions. The employee brought in medical documentation that said he had a psychiatric disability of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which caused his misconduct, and he requested a reasonable accommodation. What disciplinary actions, if any, do you think the employer should take in this scenario? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

23. Responding to Violent Situations

25. Case #1 Roger and Jim have worked in the same unit for several years. Although each is very accomplished in their field, they don’t get along. One example of this is, when they are involved in group discussions one (or the other) often will display his dis-interest by avoiding eye contact or by making an audible sigh. Neither one is willing to discuss their perceived differences. Roger has just had it with Jim. It just seems like everything he does (Jim) grates on Roger. Also, when things don’t go well, each tends to somehow place the fault on the other. One day after Roger arrives to work, he turns on a light switch to his area, which is also the common switch for the light source in Jim’s work space. After Roger turned on the light he was immediately chastised by Jim who said, “Hey boy! Turn off that light. I’m trying to work on this project!” To which Roger responded, “Don’t call me boy! Immediately Jim started advancing toward Roger in a threatening manner. A co-worker who overheard the exchange quickly stepped in between Roger and Jim thereby breaking up a potential physical confrontation. (It is likely that the above situation escalated over time and there were multiple opportunities for intervention prior to reaching the intensity described above. Let’s look at some different contacts involving Roger and Jim. In each scenario described on the following pages, decide what actions might have the greatest chance of de-escalating the situation? What actions might escalate the conflict? )

26. Escalating Behavior Confusion Scenario: Roger and Jim have worked in the same unit for several years. Although each is very accomplished in their field, they don’t get along. Today, they are involved in a group discussion. As Roger shares his ideas on a problem the group is dealing with, Jim will not make eye contact with him. He makes an audible sigh, roles his eyes and turns his back on Roger. Roger can’t understand why Jim is acting this way and describes the incident to his manager. ACTIONS Do Do Not

27. Escalating Behavior Frustration Scenario: Roger has just had it with Jim. It just seems like everything Jim does grates on Roger and the feelings are mutual. They are both spending an inordinate amount of time sharing their concerns about one another with other co-workers. ACTIONS Do Do Not

28. Escalating Behavior Blame Scenario: Jim is convinced that Roger has taken some files from his work space in order to make him look bad. Roger believes Jim has erased some files from his computer for the same reason. ACTIONS DO Do Not

29. Escalating Behavior Anger - Judgment call required Scenario: One day after Roger arrives to work, he turns on the light switch to his area, which is also the common switch for the light source for Jim’s work space. After Roger turned on the light he was immediately chastised by Jim who said, “Hey boy! Turn off that light. I’m trying to work on this project!” Roger shouted, “Don’t call me boy!” He then jumped out of his chair and stormed out of the work area. ACTIONS Do Do Not

30. Escalating Behavior Hostility - Judgment call required Scenario: One day after Roger arrives to work he turns on the light switch to his area, which is also the common switch for the light source for Jim’s work space. After Roger turned on the light he was immediately chastised by Jim who said, “Hey boy! Turn off that light. I’m trying to work on this project!” Roger responded, “Don’t call me boy!” He then jumped up from his work station, grabbed Jim by the neck and started to strangle him. Co-workers had to drag Roger off. ACTIONS Do Do Not

31. Personal Conduct to Minimize Violence* Follow these suggestions in your daily interactions with people to de-escalate potentially violent situations. If at any time a person’s behavior starts to escalate beyond your comfort zone, disengage. Do  Project calmness, move and speak slowly, quietly and confidently.  Be an empathetic listener: Encourage the person to talk and listen patiently.  Focus your attention on the other person to let them know you are interested in what they have to say.  Maintain a relaxed yet attentive posture and position yourself at a right angle rather than directly in front of the other person.  Acknowledge the person’s feelings. Indicate that you can see he/she is upset.  Ask for small, specific favors such as asking the person to move to a quieter area.  Establish ground rules if unreasonable behavior persists. Calmly describe the consequences of any violent behavior.  Use delaying tactics which will give the person time to calm down. For example, offer a drink of water (in a disposable cup).  Be reassuring and point out choices. Break big problems into smaller, more manageable problems.  Accept criticism in a positive way. When a complaint might be true, use statements like "You are probably right" or "It was my fault." If the criticism seems unwarranted, ask clarifying questions.  Ask for his/her recommendations. Repeat back to him/her what you feel he/she is requesting of you.  Arrange yourself so that a visitor cannot block your access to an exit.

32. Do Not  Use styles of communication which generate hostility such as apathy, brush off, coldness, condescension, robotism, going strictly by the rules or giving the run-around.  Reject all of a client’s demands from the start.  Pose in challenging stances such as standing directly opposite someone, hands on hips or crossing your arms. Avoid any physical contact, finger pointing or long periods of fixed eye contact.  Make sudden movements which can be seen as threatening. Notice the tone, volume and rate of your speech.  Challenge, threaten, or dare the individual. Never belittle the person or make him/her feel foolish.  Criticize or act impatiently toward the agitated individual.  Attempt to bargain with a threatening individual.  Try to make the situation seem less serious than it is.  Make false statements or promises you cannot keep.  Try to impart a lot of technical or complicated information when emotions are high.  Take sides or agree with distortions.  Invade the individual’s personal space. Make sure there is a space of three feet to six feet between you and the person. *From Combating Workplace Violence: Guidelines for Employers and Law Enforcement. International Association of Chiefs of Police. 1996. Note: Oregon OSHA is not recommending a specific response to any situation or in any way guaranteeing the effectiveness of a particular response.

33. Appendix

39. Hazard Identification Worksite Analysis Worksite analysis involves a step-by-step, commonsense look at the workplace to find existing or potential hazards for workplace violence. This entails reviewing specific procedures or operations that contribute to hazards and specific locales where hazards may develop. A "Threat Assessment Team," "Patient Assault Team," similar task force, or coordinator may assess the vulnerability to workplace violence and determine the appropriate preventive actions to be taken. Implementing the workplace violence prevention program then may be assigned to this group. The team should include representatives from senior management, operations, employee assistance, security, occupational safety and health, legal, and human resources employee. The team or coordinator can review injury and illness records and workers' compensation claims to identify patterns of assaults that could be prevented by workplace adaptation, procedural changes, or employee training. As the team or coordinator identifies appropriate controls, these should be instituted. The recommended program for worksite analysis includes, but is not limited to, analyzing and tracking records, monitoring trends and analyzing incidents, screening surveys, and analyzing workplace security. Records Analysis and Tracking This activity should include reviewing medical, safety, workers' compensation and insurance records -- including the OSHA 200 log, if required -- to pinpoint instances of workplace violence. Scan unit logs and employee and police reports of incidents or near-incidents of assaultive behavior to identify and analyze trends in assaults relative to particular departments, units, job titles, unit activities, work stations, and/or time of day. Tabulate these data to target the frequency and severity of incidents to establish a baseline for measuring improvement. Monitoring Trends and Analyzing Incidents Contacting similar local businesses, trade associations, and community and civic groups is one way to learn about their experiences with workplace violence and to help identify trends. Use several years of data, if possible, to trace trends of injuries and incidents of actual or potential workplace violence. Screening Surveys One important screening tool is to give employees a questionnaire or survey to get their ideas on the potential for violent incidents and to identify or confirm the need for improved security measures. Detailed baseline screening surveys can help pinpoint tasks that put employees at risk. Periodic surveys -- conducted at least annually or whenever operations change or incidents of workplace violence occur -- help identify new or previously unnoticed risk factors and deficiencies or failures in work practices, procedures, or controls. Also, the surveys help assess the effects of changes in the work processes. The periodic review process should also include feedback and follow-up.

45. ____ j. Transfer of information at shift change about potentially assaultive employees ____ l. Procedures for reporting assaults to administrators ____ m. Procedures for evaluating employee who have been involved in assaults ____ n. Procedures for reporting assaults to police ____ o. Legal penalties for competent assaultive employees ____ p. Structured psychological support for assaulted employee ____ q. Timeliness of L&I processing of Worker's Compensation claims ____ r. Other _______________________________ ____ s. Don't know

46. ELEMENT 5 – INCIDENT / ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION Analyze incidents and accidents to fix system weaknesses Symptoms Surface cause Root cause Controls Improvements Audit questions ____ 46. Violence Incidents/Accidents are investigated for root causes. ____ 47. Investigations are conducted to improve systems. ____ 48. Investigators are trained in violence prevention procedures. ____ 49. Serious acts of violence are investigated by teams. ____ 50. Analysis and recommendations involve all interested parties.

48. Threat assessment investigations Threat assessment investigations differ from administrative or criminal investigations in that the purpose of the threat assessment investigation is to provide guidance on managing the situation in a way that protects the employee. Many cases involving threatening behavior can be handled expeditiously and effectively by a supervisor with the assistance of one or more members of the company's incident response team. The security or law enforcement representative on the company's team will ordinarily assess risks, often in consultation with the Employee Assistance Program and employee relations staff, and make recommendations for appropriate strategies and security measures to protect employees. However, it may be helpful for the company's planning group to identify experts in threat assessment ahead of time, in case a situation requires more expertise than team members can provide. Gathering information. It is also a good idea to work out ahead of time who will gather which types of information on an individual who makes a threat. Multiple sources of information need to be consulted to better understand the person's behavior. In some cases, the company's incident response team can collect current and reliable information (which would include an investigative report) and then consult with a threat assessment professional to develop options for managing the situation. In other cases, the company's incident response team uses a threat assessment professional to conduct the initial investigation, assess the risks, and make recommendations for managing the situation. Administrative Investigations It is important to use an investigator who conducts the investigation in a fair and objective manner. The investigation should be conducive to developing truthful responses to issues that may surface. It must be conducted with full appreciation for the legal considerations that protect individual privacy. It is imperative that the investigation, especially the interview , create an atmosphere of candor and propriety. Use a qualified investigator. If a decision is made to conduct an administrative investigation, it is important to use a qualified and experienced professional workplace violence investigator. The company planning group should train and qualify one or more such investigators before the need for an investigator arises. Investigation and Evaluation After an incident occurs, a detailed investigation is imperative. All incidents should be investigated as soon as possible. The investigation should focus on fact-finding to prevent recurrence and not fault-finding. Employers should maintain comprehensive records of the investigation.

53. 1. The instructor provided quality training (relevant, interesting, applicable, etc.) and was knowledgeable about occupational safety and health. 2. The instructor was able to answer questions adequately or make an appropriate referral. 3. The instructor encouraged participation. 4. Please rate the overall effectiveness of the instructor in helping you to understand your safety and health problems and needs: WE VALUE YOUR COMMENTS Management Worker Agree Disagree 1. I found the course information easy to understand and useable. 2. The information I learned today will help me reduce hazards and prevent work-related injuries and illnesses at my workplace. 3. The course materials (workbooks, overheads, slides, etc.) were helpful. 4. Please rate the overall effectiveness of this workshop in helping you to understand your safety and health problems and needs: ...Very Effective... ...Not Effective... 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Comments: Please take the time to explain all “No” or “Not Effective” responses. ...Very Effective… ...Not Effective... 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Comments: Please take the time to explain all “No” or “Not Effective” responses. Facility Comments: Department of Consumer and Business Services Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (OR-OSHA) Workshop Evaluation Workshop Title: _________________________________ Date: ______________ Instructor: ______________________

54. Developing an effective Violence Prevention Program OR-OSHA 120 0101 Presented by The Public Education Section Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (OR-OSHA)

55. * Provides copies of all OR-OSHA codes; and and technical assistance by phone; and assistance. subjects; and safety and health codes and programs; and Oregon OSHA Offices * Operates a resource center containing books, topical files, technical periodicals, video and OR-OSHA Services Oregon OSHA offers a wide variety of safety and health services to employers and employees: Consultative Services (At all field offices) * Offers no-cost on-site safety and health assistance to Oregon employers for help in recognizing and correcting safety and health problems in their workplaces; and * Provides consultations in safety, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, programs and business Training (Portland, Salem Central, Eugene) * Conducts statewide training classes and workshops in a wide variety of safety and health * Conducts conferences, seminars and satellite (Oregon ED-Net), online training, and on-site training; and * Provides assistance to companies in developing safety and health training programs. Standards and Technical Resources (Salem Central) * Provides technical advice on and interpretations of codes; and * Publishes booklets, pamphlets, and other materials to assist in the implementation of film lending library, and more than 200 technical data bases. Enforcement (At all field offices) * Offers pre-job conferences for construction employers; and * Provides abatement assistance to employers who have received citation, and compliance * Inspects places of employment for occupational safety and health rule violations, and investigates workplace safety and health complaints and accidents. Toll Free number: 1 (888) 292-5247 option 2 Web Site: www.orosha.org One key to safety success - Partner with Oregon OSHA Services! Give us a call Salem Central Office (503) 378-3272 Portland Field Office (503) 229-5910 Salem Field Office (503) 378-3274 Eugene Field Office (541) 686-7562 Medford Field Office (541) 776-6030 Bend Field Office (541) 388-6066 Pendleton Field Office (541) 276-9175

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