Risk Assessment in The Workplace. Part 2.
Risk assessment in the workplace is an important and necessary tool. However, it may be the responsibility of the organization to assess risks and what information should be communicated to employees. Risk assessment techniques have a long history in many industries, including business, health facilities, criminal justice agencies, and more recently: violence prevention.
The purpose of this blog post is not to argue over who has responsibility for risk assessment but to provide some resources that can help organizations make informed decisions as they work toward creating a safer work environment for their employees.
One way that organizations can conduct risk assessments is through their own investigations through reports from internal audits or compliance reviews. The organization may also access information from the federal government through agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). These agencies conduct research on workplace violence and develop prevention strategies for employers. The OSHA factsheet titled "Workplace Violence Prevention" provides a good baseline for conducting your own workplace risk assessment.
The OSHA site has many resources available to help employers, including a helpful toolkit. The toolkit includes tips on how to assess risks in your workplace, how to communicate potential hazards with employees, and what you can do to prevent violent acts from occurring.
Another source of information is the NIOSH site: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html . NIOSH is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. NIOSH conducts research on workplace violence, including what causes workplace violence, can it be prevented, and how to protect employees from violence.
The American Institute of Chemical Engineers also maintains a site that provides useful resources in assessment: http://www.aichemeng.org/research-and-programs . The AIChemE site contains a very helpful resource for assessing workplace risks including the following:
AIChemE also offers other information for individuals working in industry on multiple sites ( http://www.aichemeng.org/employers-and-workers/ ).
The University of Illinois' Occupational and Environmental Medicine website also provides a wealth of information on workplace violence, risk assessment, safety, and other resources: http://cemes.illinois.edu/cemes_undergraduate_programs/occupational_environmental_medicine/index.php .
Public organizations are not necessarily exempt from the requirement to conduct risk assessments. Mass transit agencies in the U.S., for example, are required to have employees sign consent forms to release information on violent crimes occurring on their property or within their transit system. Other public organizations are required to conduct risk assessments by federal legislation. Some examples of that include the Violence Against Women Act, the Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010, and numerous sections included in the No Child Left Behind Act. The Violence Against Women Act requires prevention grants for battered women and requires states to report on the status of their programs. The Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 requires safety assessments for schools receiving funding under the new law and also requires risk assessments for schools receiving Title II Grants. The No Child Left Behind Act includes a requirement that states conduct risk assessments regarding school violence.
Risk assessment is an important part of managing workplace violence, but it may not be sufficient by itself. If the an organization chooses to implement a violence prevention plan, that plan should include methods to intervene and reduce workplace violence. Methods to mitigate workplace violence might include security measures such as an alarm system or installing surveillance cameras. Organizations may also consider how to address behavioral problems before they escalate into more serious incidents. Educating employees on proper workplace etiquette can also help prevent incidents from occurring in the first place.
Once a risk assessment is conducted, organizations should be aware of the risks that have been identified and decide how those risks can be reduced or prevented altogether. In most cases, the purpose of risk assessment is to ensure that those working in the workplace have information regarding potential risks and how those risks can be mitigated.
Some organizations use risk assessment to mitigate or eliminate known risks. For example, an oil company may develop a risk assessment for its employees after an incident had occurred involving its employees. The company may then decide to pay particular attention to certain areas of the workplace where a higher risk of violence could occur in order to reduce those risks. Of course, this approach requires some investment on the part of the organization and some level of expense (e.g., installing cameras, extra security guards) .
Other organizations may take a more preventative approach. For these organizations, risk assessment is not a step in deciding whether or not to implement certain safety improvements but is instead the basis for brainstorming ideas to reduce workplace violence. The organization may then choose to implement one of these ideas. By implementing these small changes, the organization saves money (in most cases) and prevents problems before they start. Practices such as employee training can help mitigate workplace violence through improving employees’ skills and increasing their awareness of their surroundings.
When conducting risk assessments, it is important that employers take all possible measures to minimize any information that could impact the results being determined. It is recommended that employers write their assessments in a confidential manner. This ensures that the information will not be used against the employer in court. In most cases, employers should not have to reveal what they said about employees who did not commit violence or what they suspected about employees who are violent.
For example, suppose an employer suspects that employee #7 has a history of violence. The employer should note this suspicion, but should not reveal any other information because company policy prohibits the disclosure of such information. Companies are free to write anything they wish in a risk assessment, but only within reason. They cannot use their assessments to reveal confidential information about their staff, nor can they claim that an employee is violent if the only evidence is a hunch (unless the hunch is based on past violent behavior).
Citations
General references
Workplace Violence Prevention Program: http://www.workplacevpp.org/
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=9589#9589 See OSHA's page on violence in the workplace (http://www.
Conclusion: A Risk-assessment approach can be a useful method for identifying workplace violence risks in organizations and developing interventions to reduce risk or occurrences of violence. However, it may be difficult to predict future violence incidents.
Citations
Violence in the Workplace (http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=9589#9589
General references
http://workplaceviolencepreventionblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/OSHA-Risk-Assessment-Toolkit-2010.