Workplace violence has now become a growing and common concern for organizations across various sectors. Violence can range from physical assaults to verbal threats and misbehaving. In today’s business environment, training to prevent and mitigate workplace violence has become essential. It affects the safety and well-being of employees.
Furthermore, it also creates an impact on the overall productivity and reputation of an organization. Employers in an organization must be mindful and adopt preventive measures to safeguard their employees, customers, and overall business operations. Therefore, effective training programs can make a significant impact on the workplace by making it safer and more secure. Various studies have shown that employee safety has been declining in the past few years.
There could be many reasons contributing to this factor, but the most crucial one is the neglect of employee well-being and mental health. A company can boost its productivity by making quality investments in workplace violence prevention plans. In this blog article, you can understand the meaning of workplace violence, EHS training, how and why workplace violence prevention is important, and how training plays a great role in minimizing workplace violence.
Workplace Violence: An Overview
Workplace violence can be defined as any act or threat of harassment, physical violence, mistreatment, intimidation, or any other behavior that makes you feel threatened, which occurs at a work site. It can harm employees, customers, and other members associated with the organization. Workplace violence can occur in any type of industry or workplace.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), approximately 2 million American workers have been reported as being victims of workplace violence annually. Moreover, reports show numerous similar cases go unreported. The side effects of such incidents go beyond just affecting the victims physically. It gives rise to long-term psychological trauma and mental health concerns, which ultimately affect the organization’s productivity.
To address this crucial issue, various regulations have been introduced. Similarly, the standards of OSHA workplace violence are among the most effective and comprehensive regulations in the United States. Also, some places and cities have put down specific laws that mandate businesses to implement effective workplace violence prevention strategies, including productive training programs.
How Training Plays A Role In Workplace Violence Prevention?
Training is one of the most effective tools involved in the workplace violence prevention plan. It makes employees and management acquire the knowledge and skills needed to identify violence, respond effectively, and de-escalate potentially risky situations. A well-planned and organized training program can create a work culture focused on awareness. This culture can make the employees feel empowered to break the silence and report any kind of behavior or activity that they find suspicious before it escalates into full-proof violence.
The workplace violence prevention plan, along with training programs like ehs training program, includes various critical elements that are –
Identification of Risk Factors and Suspicious Acts
Training helps employees identify and locate behaviors in the workplace that could potentially lead to violence in the future. For instance, excessive frustration over a topic, verbal abuse, aggressive interaction, and intimidating actions might be some of the warning signs.
Reporting and Responding
According to OSHA workplace violence regulations, employers of an organization must take the required measures to protect workers from any kind of workplace hazards. Therefore, employees can freely report potential threats to the proper channels to find a way out. In this scenario, training makes the employees understand the steps they need to take when witnessing or experiencing any kind of harassment or violent behavior.
De-Escalation Training
Proper and effective communication can easily mitigate and prevent many instances of workplace violence. Training that focuses largely on conflict resolution and de-escalation strategies can provide help to employees to manage volatile and risky situations calmly and professionally.
De-escalation training involves practicing communication and problem-solving techniques that help employees resolve tense and threatening situations by reducing the possibility of violence.
Active Shooter
This type of training makes employees learn and equips them with skills to recognize early signs of potential threats. It trains to respond on an urgent basis with strategies for escaping the risk situation and survival.
Reduces Environmental Stressors
EHS Training often emphasizes creating a safe physical environment (e.g., secure entry points, proper lighting, and surveillance) and ensures proper workplace ergonomics, thereby reducing stress through well-organized and comfortable workspaces.
Importance of Workplace Violence Training and EHS Training
- Making quality investments in workplace violence prevention training can help in various ways to protect an organization from potential threats.
- The primary, important benefit is keeping the employees safe from any injury or death. Safeguards the workers’ emotional, physical, and mental well-being in an organization.
- The ehs training program helps an organization reduce liability by reducing cases of workplace violence and ensuring open communication. That ultimately reduces the risk of legal action taken against the organization and saves it from financial loss.
- An effective training program against workplace violence can help safeguard the name and fame of an organization. Cases of workplace violence, when published in the outside world, create a negative impact on the reputation of the organization.
- By keeping the employees safe, an organization can successfully boost its productivity. Safeguarding employees’ well-being and mental health leads to enhanced efficacy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, workplace violence poses a significant number of risks to both employee safety and business operations. The Workplace Violence Prevention Plan and EHS Training are holistic approaches adopted by organizations to create a safer and more productive workplace environment. Effective training makes the workplace culture safer and more organized for every employee.