CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR WORKPLACE VIOLENCE POLICY
There are templates available from organizations like the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) that law firms can reference when building their workplace violence policy, but even if you use one, you will probably need to modify it to accommodate your own office. Considerations like your work environment, whether there are building visitors, and types of potential threats can all play a role what you should include, says Adam Burkholder, SPHR, Director of Workplace Violence Prevention for the University of California, Davis.
“Workplace violence doesn’t just involve employees,” Burkholder says. “It involves visitors, clients, even strangers. There are all kinds of different interactions that can lead to a workplace violence incident.”
Burkholder says there are numerous variables that may impact what goes into your policy, even with a template in hand. To help get you started, here are five key items to consider including in your workplace violence policy.
- Workplace Violence Definitions
An organization can’t effectively enforce a workplace violence policy without establishing a clear definition of what counts as “workplace violence,” Burkholder says. Does your policy only cover physical violence, or as Howard mentioned, are you looking to incorporate bullying and harassment, as well?
Defining workplace violence can also help outline the different types of incidents you may encounter and need to respond to under the policy, such as employee-on-employee, client-on-employee or stranger-on-employee.
“Workplace violence doesn’t just involve employees ... It involves visitors, clients, even strangers.”
- Reporting Procedures
Employees should know who they can tell and trust when an incident arises, but reporting procedures are important for both the reporter and the employer to help ensure the incident is properly documented, investigated and handled. “You can’t respond properly if you don’t have a policy,” Howard says, “but also, your employees can’t escalate things or rely on a standard response if you don’t have those things in place.”
- State-Level Compliance
In addition to guidelines companies need to follow from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), your state may also have specific requirements when it comes to enforcing workplace violence prevention and training. States like California and New York are examples of jurisdictions that have proactively responded to concerns around workplace violence, so ensuring that your company complies with local and federal law is key.
- Anti-Retaliation Verbiage
With the creation of a workplace violence policy, it’s just as important to address the psychological safety of employees as well as the physical, Howard says. This means creating a policy that encompasses all ways employees can be harmed on the job. This can include employee retaliation, which can contribute to an unsafe work environment for reporters of workplace violence.
For this reason, it’s important to include anti-retaliation language in your workplace violence policy. Not only can it help to normalize reporting, as Burkholder has seen with his own organization, but it can also help to provide employees with a sense of security around reporting misconduct in the workplace.
- Training Requirements
Incorporating organization-wide training requirements can help raise awareness and provide critical information around reporting and responding to workplace violence, recognizing problematic behavior in the workplace and promoting personal safety. It can even help with de-escalation and violence prevention.
THE IMPACT OF A SOLID WORKPLACE VIOLENCE POLICY
Creating a workplace violence policy isn’t just about legal compliance — it’s about creating a safe environment for employees, clients and the people who associate with your business. But most importantly, having a clear enforceable workplace violence policy in place sends a message about your company’s values and your willingness to protect those who work for you — both from physical and psychological violence.
Creating a workplace violence policy isn’t just about legal compliance — it’s about creating a safe environment for employees, clients and the people who associate with your business.
“If your employer does not support you, or you’re not certain they’re going to support you when somebody you worked with physically harms you, that is a hopeless situation for most people,” Howard says. “They lose all hope of ever developing a safe relationship with this workplace.”
