The Human Resource Director
By [Sharon]URL Not Found White

One of the biggest dangers of each and every worker is violence in his workplace. Workplace violence is defined as any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in a circumstances relating to their work. There are 2,000,000 acts of assault in the workplace yearly, not even counting rapes and sexual assault, or murder. And those are the acts of violence that are reported. Her are some ways to keep violence from happening.

Both the employer and the employee have an interest in reducing
violence at work. For employers, violence can lead to poor morale and
a poor image for the organization, making it difficult to recruit and
keep staff. It can mean extra cost with absenteeism, higher insurance
premiums and compensation payments. For employees, violence can cause
pain, distress and even disability or death. Physical attacks are
obviously dangerous but serious and persistent verbal abuse and
threats can also damage an employees' health through anxiety and
stress.

Our employers are deeply concerned for out safety and the safety of
our loved ones now more than ever due to the recent events of 9/11.
However, before then American employers did little to protect workers
from work place violence largely because they did not realize the
magnitude of the problem because OHSA did not require them to take
protective measures. NASP found that another reason employers failed
to address the workplace violence problem was that safety
professionals felt it was a security issue, while security
professionals felt is was a safety issue. In most business and
industry Human Resources provides the oversight for security and
safety and so should logically serve as a bridge between them.

Effective workplace violence prevention programs are a great way to
reduce workplace violence. These programs should include physical
security, pre-employment screening, good termination practices,
employee assistance programs, out placement and a host of other
options. There are courses designed for security personnel and include
sections on implementing a "Work Safe" environment as well as threat
assessment, incident management and conflict resolution. HR managers
should also consider a course that prepares the manager to train
employees about workplace hazards and vulnerability.

According to the government's Violence at Work guide for employers
handbook there are four stages of effective management of violence.
The first stage is finding out if there is a problem. The HR Director
should do a risk assessment and identify hazards of work place
violence. Short questionnaires are a good way for managers and
supervisors to recognize if there is a problem. The result would be to
find out whether or not employees ever feel threatened. It is a good
idea to record incidents, including verbal abuse and threats. For each
incident an account of what happened needs to be recorded. It is very
important to obtain details from the victim, assailant and any
witnesses. Also, there should be a write up on the outcome, including
working time lost to both individuals affected and to the organization
as a whole. There are many reasons that some employees may be
reluctant to report incidents of aggressive behavior that makes them
feel worried or threatened. They may feel that accepting abuse is part
of the job. The HR Director should encourage employees to report
incidents as soon as they occur so that a clear detailed picture of
the problem can be fully examined so that action can be taken.

Deciding what action to take is the second stage. After finding out
what violence could be a problem the HR Director needs to decide what
needs to be done. The risk assessment should continue to find out what
which employees are at risk and what actions to take to minimize the
chance for violence to occur. Employees that have face-to-face contact
with the public are normally the most vulnerable. Employees should be
trained so that they can spot the early signs of aggression and either
avoid it or cope with it. Employees also need to be provided with
information they might need to identify clients with a history of
violence or to anticipate factors, which make violence more likely.

When dealing with a violent incident the HR Director needs to respond
as quickly as possible to avoid any long-term distress to employees. A
support plan should be set up to help victims deal with the emotional
stress. The HR Director or other members of Human Resources should be
available for the victims to talk about their experience. Since people
react differently, they may need time off to recover or seek
counseling. Also, the Human Resource Director needs to consider
helping other employees deal with a violent incident and help them
understand what happened and how to react appropriately.

It is unfortunate that prior to 9/11 workplace violence fell through
the cracks because OSHA did not require employers to address it. The
employer has both a moral and legal responsibility to protect workers
from any anticipated hazard, whether or not there is a specific
regulation addressing that hazard. Every employer should rush to
defend their employees against violence and to instill in them a
feeling of security in their work environment. With proper planning
and effective programs, the HR Director can drastically reduce
incidents of workplace violence.

The article was produced by the writer of masterpapers.com.
Sharon White has many years of a vast experience in [Application Essay to help our customers ]application essay writing and [Argumentative Essay to help you with your studies ]academic writing consulting. Get free samples of essays, coursework’s and [=http://www.masterpapers.com/art_dissertation.htm ]adolescent essay.

Article Source: Sharon White - EzineArticles.com Expert Author The Human Resource Director