NCJ Number
213537
Date Published
2006
Length
216 pages
Annotation
Based on interviews and organizational research, this book examines workplace violence in four of Great Britain's most violence-prone occupations: the police, accident and emergency personnel, social workers, and mental health professionals.
Abstract
The central finding for all the occupations is that the problem is less one of the frequency of actual physical attacks, although they do occur, but more of ongoing anxiety regarding their possibility. Linked to this is the sense of vulnerability in performing occupational duties. An important component of this sense of vulnerability is perceptions of organizational support for and attention to workers' safety. Workers' concerns about organizational policy pertain to the prompt and firm action against perpetrators of violence against workers and how malicious complaints against workers are handled by the organization. Another issue is the training employees receive regarding the handling of conflict with difficult people. Although employee training manuals and courses address this issue, they generally overestimate the extent to which it is possible to avoid such conflicts. There are aspects of the roles of all four professions that place them in potentially volatile situations. Although employees can be trained to reduce the likelihood of an escalation toward violence, employees must be trained in how to deal with various types of violence as they occur. Further, managers should not assume that when violence does occur it is because the employee did not act appropriately to prevent it. The book concludes that the problem of workplace violence in the professions examined is so complex and diverse that there are no "quick fixes." This is why the authors offer no detailed recommendations. What is clear is that the problem exists and causes considerable anxiety among workers. Employing organizations must recognize this and address it in workplace policies and procedures. 264 references and a subject index