Define the differences between conflict management and anger management.

Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Define workplace violence and outline historical evidence that leads to workplace violence.

2. Define risk reduction strategies for workplace violence.

3. Analyze how OSHA guidelines are used in conjunction with workplace violence in the construction industry.

4. Explain the differences between conflict management and anger management.

5. Identify methods in which supervisors can mitigate the prevention of workplace violence.

Unit Lesson

Different factors contribute to different levels of workplace violence. Workplace violence has emerged as a priority in the safety and health industry. Employers and OSHA are now addressing the factors that lead to workplace violence and how to attend to the many different situations associated with workplace violence. The prevention of workplace violence is a natural extension of the primary duties in the construction industry. Since safety and health issues are a top priority, workplace violence naturally falls under this area. Construction personnel should be very familiar (and have attended training) with the issues that cause workplace violence.

About one million individuals are the direct victims of some form of violent crime in the workplace every year (Goetsch, 2010). Given the high level of victims of workplace violence, there are legal considerations that employees must consider when addressing workplace violence in the construction industry. Ethical, legal, practical, and economic reasons must be factored into responding to these issues. Management must respond immediately to the possibility of a dangerous situation, they must take disciplinary actions when necessary, provide victim support, and deal with aggressive employees accordingly. One philosophy where employers can use administrative controls in risk-reduction strategies in order to try to mitigate workplace violence is through Crime Reduction Through Environmental Design (CRTED). This includes natural surveillance, control of access, an employee’s establishment of territory, activity support, and normal administrative controls including establishing appropriate policies, conducting background checks, and providing the proper training for employees.

Employers should also look for predictors of future violence. They can review employees’ past records, their memberships to possible hate groups, and demonstration of any type of psychotic behavior, obsessions, depressions, and frustrations. Employers can use records-monitoring and -tracking to establish a pattern of behavior to help identify predictors and then utilize them in helping to mitigate future violence. There are specific guidelines, outlined by OSHA, in order to address workplace violence, and for determining whether a violent act

Preventing Violence in the Workplace

Supplemental Reading

United States Department of Labor-Search for guidelines on workplace violence

www.osha.gov

Key Terms

1. Activity support

2. Conflict management

3. Control of access

4. Employer liability

5. Employer surveys or focus groups

6. Establishment of territory

7. Exclusivity provision

8. Natural surveillance

9. Occupational violent crime

10. Record keeping

11. Trend monitoring

12. Workplace analysis

13. Workplace violence

BOS 3401, Construction Safety 2

can be classified as an on-the-job incident. These guidelines provide an excellent framework that can be used in the construction industry to assist management in worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control, and safety and health training.

Reference

Goetsch, D. L. (2010). Construction safety and the OSHA standards. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.