Occupational Heath and safety

1. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
By: Muhammad Ali Raja

2. Questions
◦ What is workplace violence?
◦ A) Physical harm
◦ B) verbal threat
◦ C) psychological
◦ D) A&B
◦ E) All of above
◦ Do you know how many work days are lost annually due to workplace violence?

3. Introduction
◦ Workplace is a location where a worker performs his/her duties assigned by the
employer. Type or job could vary from person to person.
◦ Workplace violence?
◦ Physical assault, threatening behavior, verbal abuse, harassment, vandalism,
beatings, stabbing, being shouted at, excessive workload etc.

4. Categories of workplace violence
◦ Criminal intent
◦ Violence by customer or client
◦ Violence by worker to worker
◦ Violence by domestic partners
◦ Ideological violence. (everbridge.com)

5. Causes and Impacts
◦ Organizational conflicts
◦ Staff shortage
◦ Lack of prevention programs. (Dillon et al. 2012)

6. Impacts
◦ However this issue can impact in various ways as it can cause damage
in millions to different organizations, as a result of employee
absenteeism, medical costs, loss in determination to work etc.

7. Signs to look for
◦ We must have to keep an eye on a suspicious person’s obsessions such
as
◦ Obsession with guns
◦ Obsession with violence etc.

8. Mitigation
◦ in order to counteract this issue organizations must formulate
stringent policies against violence in workplace and zero tolerance
must be shown towards perpetrators. . (Dillon et al. 2012)

9. Ways to avoid workplace violence
◦ Familiarize yourself with your company’s policies/emergency procedures.
◦ Report physical and verbal abuses to employer and manager.
◦ Be aware of the temperament of your colleagues and stay away from the
aggressive ones.
◦ Take all threats seriously.
◦ Do not overreact.
◦ Implement a buddy system.

10. Results and discussion
Comparison of violence amongst men and women in two different studies
Male victims to workplace violence were slightly more in numbers as compared to females in
Pakistan hospitals. Whereas, second chart depicts violence amongst social workers in U.K and
USA.

11. Type of violence Frequency of occurrence
1. Verbal assaults 86%
2. Damage to property 54%
3. Physical assaults 58%
4. Sexual harassment 11%
5. Stalking 14%
Types of violence amongst nurses in remote areas in Australia (13 year data from 1995-2008) (Opie T et al. 2009)

12. How to cope with an emergency situation and
recommendations
◦ In case of emergency situation
◦ Call the building security if available.
◦ Otherwise call 15 and stay on the line until police arrives.
◦ Recommendations
◦ Provide job skills and training
◦ Provide counselling
◦ Educate the workforce and listen to workers.

13. Conclusion
◦ After stating all the facts and reviewing multiple datasheets it can be concluded
that workplace violence can take many forms and it can be aggravated due to
several reasons such as mental stressors, in-job conflicts, emotional reasons and
joblessness etc. These all reasons can add up and lead to dangerous consequences.
However, organizations should look into this matter critically and take the best
possible measures to prevent such incident by making proper rules and
regulations

14. References
1. https://www.everbridge.com/blog/five-types-workplace-violence/
2. Dillon, B. L. (2012). Workplace violence: impact, causes, and prevention. Work, 42(1), 15-20.
3. Zafar, W., Siddiqui, E., Ejaz, K., Shehzad, M. U., Khan, U. R., Jamali, S., & Razzak, J. A. (2013). Health care
personnel and workplace violence in the emergency departments of a volatile metropolis: results from
Karachi, Pakistan. The Journal of emergency medicine, 45(5), 761-772.