What is the dark side of work?
Increased pressure to perform through work intensification, longer hours work culture, the threat of job loss, or simple bad management and systems which can create a climate of fear and discontent which can potentially erupt into violence
HR perspective on the dark side of work
- understand the root cause of the issues
- long term impact of morale and undermine HR
- talented people are unlikely to remain
- negative organisation consequences are higher turnover, poor organisational reputation, and increased cost of product delivery, prosecution and common law claims
What are the costs of workplace violence (2)?
The cost to the organisation of workplace violence can been seen from a variety of perspectives, including moral and economic impacts on the individual, colleagues and on the organisation and society as a whole
- Direct costs (legal services, medical services, perpetrator control costs, cost of policing
- Indirect costs (lost earning and time, lost human capital investment, productivity, psychological costs
What is the central pillar of managing workplace violence?
A clear and well articulated policy. The key aspects of a good policy are that it must be more than just a compliance document and must focus on preventing violence and remedying any violations of that policy.
The policy needs to focus on
1. prevention
2. be targetd by addressing appropriate action for the type and level of violence
3. Multiple - by developing a combination of responses
What is the typology of workplace violence (4)?
- Intrusive violence
- Consumer related violence
- Relationship violence
- Organisational violence
What is intrusive violence?
Criminal intent by strangers, terrorist act mental illness related, protest violence
What is consumer-related violence?
Customer / client / patients against staff;
Vicarious trauma to staff
Staff violence to clients / customers
What is relationship violence?
Staff on staff violence
domestic violence at work
What is organisational violence?
organisational violence against staff
organisational violence against clients, customers or patient
Describe workplace violence intervention (3)
Prevention - the emphasis is on the employer to deal with the causes of workplace violence
Targeted - the policy needs to address appropriate action for the type and level of violence
Multiple - the development of a combination of response to deal with what are often complex issues and problems
Intervention needs to be immediate, participatory and long term
