Violence and crimes take many forms inside the workplace. Sexual harassment, coercion, profanity, raised voices, intimidation, threat, robbery, homicide and other forms of physical harm can happen at any given time. Commonly, it is something minor like theft, but in some cases, lives are taken because of a disgruntled employee.

Protect your workers from any act of violence or crime by carefully planning a safety system. Start with assessing the vulnerability of the workplace by asking yourself the questions below.

Does the workplace have an appropriate security system in place?

Do you have phone systems, office access controls? Safe rooms, security detail, panic and emergency buttons, sign-in policies, good lighting and safety training?

These should be enough to protect all your employees from violence coming from inside the organization and outside the workplace premises.

What is the policy adopted by your company when it comes to hiring and firing?

Your company should prevent anyone with criminal violence from entering your organization. It should look into employment gaps, educational records, and history references before it absorbs someone into the company.

What are your company's termination procedures? Do these clearly define policies on advance notice, placement services, and severance pay? The company should minimize the chances of this causing dissatisfaction among terminated employees.

Is there anyone in your organization who can potentially become a source of violence or crime?

Does anyone in your organization exhibit any of the following?

- Chronic absenteeism

- Frequent rising of voice

- Depression

- Beyond normal impatience

- Increased irritability

- Memory and concentration problems

- Other worrisome and unusual behaviors

If so, what does your company do to prevent  workplace problems related to any of the abovementioned conditions from erupting? Does your company have policies on handling workplace violence? There should be a system in place that encourages employees to report unusual behaviors among their colleagues. The management should also provide a program that helps in assisting employees in distress.

How about the structural integrity of your workplace?

Are the doors, windows and other entry and exit points secured? These should be safe from mechanical override. Your company should also adopt effective policies on reporting, maintaining and fixing broken doors, windows and locks. Also, additional security measures should be placed to guarantee the personal security of every member of the organization within and outside workplace premises.

Does your company provide equipment that help secure valuable objects, belongings and information?

Are the employees secured in common trouble spots such as reception areas, garages, elevators, restrooms, etc.? Are there areas in the workplace that have dim lighting?  These and other problem areas such as blind spots should be properly addressed.

Is sensitive and confidential information safe in your workplace or can outside people breach your office security that can lead to information leaks?

Does your company adopt a formal document destruction policy?

After assessing your office's vulnerability to crime and violence, take steps to reduce this. Adopt a comprehensive violence prevention program which covers not only the most common scenarios involving violence, but also the worst-case scenarios that could happen within the workplace premises. It should also encompass issues such as physical security, practices relating to hiring and firing employees, and employee vulnerability. Lastly, this program should be implemented and supported by all levels of employees, from upper management down.

The safety of everyone in the workplace is an issue that cannot be taken lightly. Because even something as minor as a slippery floor can cause serious damage to an employee's heath and serious financial blow on the part of the employer. Below are some of the most common accidents in the workplace which all organizations' management should be able to address.

Trips and Slips

Minor accidents like trips and slips account for more than one-third of all accidents happening in the workplace, making it one of the most commonly experienced accidents. While these are very minor accidents that often give a good laugh among colleagues, the reality still stands that these can pose severe physical and health hazards. Not a few people have suffered brain damage, head injuries, limb fractures, and even death because of simple trips. In most cases, the cause is negligence, poor flooring, obstructions, or poor housekeeping. The solution is obvious, although not always easy. Organizations should have well-maintained premises, free from any obstruction or substances that can cause someone to trip or slip.

Minimize trips and slips by ensuring that...

- The flooring of the workplace is suitable and well-maintained. Worn flooring should never be left unattended. Also, flooring should be cleaned with appropriate cleaners.

- Blind spots should be addressed either by removing them or by informing the employees of their presence.

- Cables should be secured away.

- Hand rails and guard rails should be installed wherever appropriate.

- Areas that are slippery should be marked.

- All areas in the workplace premises should have sufficient lighting.

Manual handling

This term covers any activity or work that requires the use of the hands such as moving, carrying, lowering, pushing, restraining, holding, pulling, and lifting. Around a third of all accidents in the workplace are due to any of these actions. Often, injuries are musculoskeletal, meaning the affected areas are often the bones and the muscles. Thus strains and injuries to feet, legs, arms, hands, tendons and even to the heart are quite common.

Prevent accidents of this nature by...

- Not requiring employees to do excessive or extensive pulling or pushing, twisting, lifting, and pushing

- Providing equipment and machineries that will minimize the hazardous physical output on the part of the employees

- Allowing sufficient rest periods

- Providing appropriate safety instructions and regulations

Electrical accidents

Electric shocks, electric burns, and other accidents that revolve around electrical equipment and appliances are not limited to electricians and workers who work around electricity. Even people who are working in offices are prone to accidents caused by faulty wiring, open wires, and poorly maintained electrical outlets.

Minimize electrical accidents by...

- Hiding away electrical wires, cables and sockets

- By proving proper electrical hazards

- By providing full training to employees who are working with electrical equipment

Traffic accidents

Accidents involving motorized vehicles do not only happen in warehouse depots where heavy vehicles are used. These could also happen in workplace premises such as parking lots and even in walkways outside the establishment.

Traffic accidents can be prevented by...

- Separating vehicles from pedestrians using barriers

- By applying one-way systems

- By properly training employees who work as drivers

The measures that are set to ensure the employee's safety often define not only the production capability of individual members of the organization, but also their well-being. The most common accidents discussed above should be able to guide managements in setting up measures that can ensure the safety of their employees.

Establishing workplace safety practices is in the interest of the employer. This is why one OSHA rule states that the employer has to compensate illnesses and injuries suffered in the workplace whether these are the employers fault or not. This rule includes employee rights to get compensation mental injuries as well.

Even so, to create a safe environment, it is imperative for the worker to contribute to safe working conditions because while everyone deserves to be safe, it is the worker who will suffer when there are threats to unsafe working practices.

The following are suggestions that help:

1. Attend training or request one. Training conducted in the classroom are excellent venues to air concerns and to learn from experts. Employees could encourage better and more productive training sessions by providing clear and work related experiences and issues. For a more personal approach, request one on one training with the supervisor or with a designated authority. Getting expert help not only enhances productivity and safety, it also brings unforeseen issues out.

2. Ask for help. When a task at hand is not very clear or the instructions are vague, do not hesitate to ask questions. Countless questions that appear dumb at the moment have saved so many lives and limbs. When safety is concerned, no question is ever dumb. Again when in doubt, do not hesitate to ask.

3. Safety gears and clothing have gone through years of research and tons of resources in aid of creating a safer environment. Use these when told to.

4. A whistleblower is seldom popular but there are always employees who are simply indifferent and inconsiderate. This is true all over the world across all cultures and across all working conditions. When the actions of co-workers jeopardize safety, talk to the employer. When safety is the issue, everyone looks out for the other guy.

5. Clean as you go. Tools, equipment, materials have to be in its proper places when not in use. This is also aiding the memory. Being organized is habitual. It is also good practice that facilitates completion of tasks efficiently. Clearing up maybe janitorial job, keeping the workplace neat and safe is not always.

6. Inasmuch as you have the right to work in a safe workplace, you also have the right to refuse jobs that are unsafe or to work in areas where there is potential threat to safety.

7. Bring possible dangers in the work place to the attention of someone. There are so many variables in accidents. Potential threats should not be ignored. Electrical wires lying around, cables, carpets that are not lying flat, boxes in the hallway, busted lights, insufficient lighting, and dripping water are all potentially dangerous. 

8. Know what to do and how to respond in cases of emergency. The company's handbook on safety provides good advice.

9. Have sufficient rest. Partying the night before, working long hours, no matter how helpful always take its toll.

10. Follow safety rules, instructions and work practices. Don't let up on these, even for one minute.

Everyone has a right to a safe environment. Workplace safety is paramount to increased productivity. Likewise, no business, institution, organization has ever succeeded in increasing productivity when there are a lot of tension, stresses and disorder.

Unfortunately, behind all the good intentions and the efforts to come out with good programs at improving harmony and team work in the workplace. There will always be those who will not leave other people be. The attitude to dominate is as old as man himself and is ever present in all workplace conditions.

Most of us have suffered bullying. However, many of us thought that bullies will no longer be much of a bother after the eighth grade. Wrong. In the workplace, a bully may be a boss or a co-worker whose main weapons are words and actions to keep us uncomfortable, inadequate or threatened. At best, bullies are just annoyances that we live with. Nonetheless they should be handled very effectively.

- Seek the advice of a trusted friend or professional in the workplace in handling this type of situation. There is a good chance that many other people in the office has similar experiences and have dealt with bullies before.

- Crying, sulking, being intimidated, and feeling bad about the self are the bullies' purpose. Do not allow the bully to do that. Instead, confront the bully in a professional calm manner provided that your physical safety is not in danger. Do not raise your voice or use threat. Threats are the department of the bully, he is better at that. In fact, the bully could be looking for those opportunities so he can bully you more.

- Your arguments should not be phrased to win people to your side. Many people are put off by this as these borders on being pathetic. If you do not feel bad about yourself, are factual and truthful, allow people excellent space to make their own judgments.

- Do your job well and make sure your superiors are aware of the quality of work you produce. Bullies are not beyond slander. When given even the smallest of chances, the bully will spread the word that you are lousy at your job and may often come up with proofs. Doing your job well makes you popular with those around you including your superiors. Jobs that are very well done rob the bully of opportunities. In fact it is professional suicide for him to bully people who are good at what they do.

- Build and Maintain friendships. Bullying tactics include isolating you from friends and colleagues.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that 'no one can make you feel inferior without your consent'. That is always true. Making you feel bad about yourself is the bully's main purpose because it makes him feel better in the process. Why give him that? Why succumb? There will always be these irritating people - the bullies. The good news is that one way or another, good workers are more durable. They last, they move on. Always, bullies do not. They often don't last. 

Workplace safety and good work environment is the right of every worker. In fact, it is a law. To this end, workplace safety is a very big concern for companies and spends huge resources for its research, training, implementation, and maintenance.

One of the top concerns for promoting workplace safety is the loss of productivity. When workplace safety measures are effectively implemented, it improves company profitability, promotes brand equity, and creates savings in terms of bottom line expenses for compensation, health, and insurance benefits aside from expenses on probable litigation.

Due to a very wide variable by which accidents could happen, workplace safety is a continuing process. It is the ongoing identification of potential hazards, probability of occurrence, and the risks that are involved in a particular task or area of operation. In many trade, manufacturing, and production concerns, hazards analysis involves re mapping work places and stations, re outfitting employees and providing ergonomic equipment as it relates to the performance of a task or a function. The following are practices normally done to promote a safer work environment.

Checklists

List of possible hazards and potential hazardous conditions must be checked every day and be resolved. Specific hazards that are associated with tasks that are high risks have also to be eliminated from workstations. Daily checks promote awareness of the risks involved and its avoidance and prevention. It also results to discovering other possible risks not recognized previously. Analysis of individual workstations and recording harmful actions could be better identified when daily checks are conducted.

Removing Obstructions

To provide good traffic in the workplace and reduce accidents, clear hallways, passageways and other walking surfaces from boxes, crates, bundles, and other objects that obstruct efficient workflow. Never leave items in areas that workers do not expect.

Form the Habit

Safe habits, when formed and reinforced are good deterrents for accidents. Implementation of safety procedures and methods has to be diligently observed and enforced until it becomes second nature to workers. 

Use Signs

There are several signs each with a different purpose but are directed towards promoting safety. Directional signs, posters, mandatory signs, prohibitions signs etc., are all designed to direct safety procedures and actions that continue to work in the absence of the safety engineer or the supervisor. Signs are also effective tools at providing directions during emergencies.

Be Prepared For Emergencies

The worst disasters were unexpected disasters. The twin towers may be one of the safest buildings during its time, the Titanic was suggested as unsinkable and disasters in the likes of Katrina were not heard off and prepared for and then it happened.

Accidents and disaster could strike at any time. While there are events that could never be avoided nor anticipated, most accidents and disasters could be prevented by vigilance, anticipation and preparation and a continuous process of analysis and limiting if not the elimination of probabilities. And yes it is a hard work. Then again, there is no substitute for preparation if workplace safety is the concern. For the most part, the person that we spare from harm is the person that we care most about.

It is everyone's business to maintain a safe workplace. However, emphasis is given on the responsibility of business owners to prioritize the safety, welfare, and health of their employees. Fortunately, every business owner can manage the safety of their employees in the same way they manage every other aspect of their business. Having said that, the following areas should serve as the foundation of a comprehensive safety system for every organization:

Management Commitment

Safety begins from the top management. The commitment and genuine interest of the management to keep the workplace free from potential hazards and risks is crucial in the creation and integration of safety policies in any workplace.

The top management should initiate the creation of safety policies. Clear policies should be made to ensure that safe work practices are applied in all levels of management. Recommendations from safety meetings group or safety committee should be incorporated into the proposed policy so as to ensure that it is comprehensive enough to cover all possible scenarios, incidents, and accidents.

Accountability

All employees should be given a clear idea of the consequences of not maintaining their own safety and that of their colleagues. Management could strengthen the all employees' accountability by:

- Creating disciplinary policies when expectations are not met.

- Holding supervisors and managers accountable for the safety of the people they manage.

- Holding appropriate authorities accountable for enforcing safety and health policies.

- Incorporating the safety responsibilities of each employee to their job descriptions as well as -performance evaluations.

- Establishing programs that recognize the individual contributions of employees to the safety efforts of the organization.

Involvement

Employees are in direct contact with tools, equipment, machineries, and appliances that make them vulnerable at work. It is, thus, very important to directly involve them with the efforts to minimize workplace hazards, risk of injuries and of accidents. Construct a system that encourages employees to suggest safety polices or report hazards.

Surveys, inspections, job hazard analyses, and keeping tabs of accidents occurring in the workplace are just some of the most effective methods of identifying workplace accidents. These help not only undetermining possible accidents that may occur in the workplace but also in preventing these from happening.

Hazard Control

Hazard control covers anything from integrating administrative and engineering controls to providing good housekeeping. These measures are aimed at minimizing or controlling the chances of accidents happening.

Investigation of Accidents and Incidents

Investigation is a critical component of preventing workplace accidents from occurring. This allows proper authorities to eliminate the cause, and therefore, prevent the accident from happening or from happening again. Investigating incidents is also an important practice. No-fault incident reports should be filed so that close calls with accidents do not become actual accidents.

Safety Training

All employees have the right to know whether they are exposed to possible accidents or not. They should also be armed with information on how to respond depending on the accident. Drills, orientations, classroom sessions, as well as hands-on practice can give employees the training they need to respond well to incidents.

Safety Evaluation

Periodical assessment of the safety efforts of an organization makes it possible for the management to polish their safety policies. This practice also makes it very feasible for companies to enhance their safety policies.

Good housekeeping saves money.

Workplace safety and good housekeeping goes beyond floors that are swept and orderly storage of materials. It is good space management, elimination of clutter, orderliness, effective workplace traffic and organization, and providing tools to encourage better working habits and practices and communal concern. When all these are achieved the result will be fewer janitorial cleanups, fewer damage to properties, optimized inventories, fewer energy costs, reduced possibilities of fire hazards, fewer accidents including better workplace stresses and comfortable work environment.

There is a popular belief that the things we learned until seven years old rule the rest of our lives. True maybe but that could not be allowed to happen in the workplace where different people come from different orientation to life and the effect could destroy even the best management intentions. Being orderly and being chaotic is not a choice. It is the law. No matter the excuse, no matter the intention, good housekeeping is worth keeping. Here is why.

Good housekeeping results to productivity.

A cluttered workspace slows down work. Even the simplest of items lost in a clutter, when the need is important becomes an issue of productivity. Tidying up the space maybe the job of janitors but it is also an integral part of efficiency. When the job slows due to improper housekeeping, the employee must understand that productivity goes hand in hand with job security. The employee must keep the space under his influence tidy before break time and before starting work. There is such a thing as organized chaos promoted in many quarters. Organized chaos though is for show. It does not have anything to do with safety and efficiency.

Good housekeeping is improving profitability.

Legal yes, but if legalities are the main motivators, the span of involvement is short. The understanding is limited too. Sooner, clutter piles up. When that happens, downtime is incurred loosing man-hours, mishandling of materials and equipment, costly repairs, cause employee demotivation and even accidents. Every employee must realize that good housekeeping promotes safety, profitability and the competitiveness of the company.

Horseplay may be very light infractions.

The OSHA passed several laws and catalogues of hazards that could be very costly when violations are established. While the OSHA catalogue is impressive, there are needs that are particular to certain companies. It is advisable for safety engineers to augment laws by house rules and evaluate housekeeping practices based on the list.

In formulating house rules, the old "what if" question are still good guidelines to go by. Accidents by its nature are unexpected. No matter how good the plan is accidents are never totally prevented. Exploring the "what if" question expands possibilities of reducing accidents from happening.

We all know that a clean workspace is a healthy place. A well-organized place is a safe workplace. Every employee must be involved in housekeeping and make suggestions on places in the office or in the shop floor that needs better housekeeping, because workplace safety starts with good housekeeping practices.

In principle, large multinational companies have their own departments whose sole task is to develop new training programs and come out, most of the time, with ingenious approaches to handle work related concerns, and workplace safety practices. Even so, there are paradoxes that are most of the time overlooked.

The Issues

For one, it is more motivating for trainers to conduct training programs with large audiences rather than a single recruit. Conducting training to a solitary audience is harder because it invites among other things, informality. On cases like this, the trainer is seldom on his toes and therefore not at his or her tiptop best. Because there is limited interaction, the subject is not well explored. The point is, when this is true with large companies; imagine how it is with the smaller ones. To think that smaller companies need as much training of their employees if not more. Since this cannot be totally avoided, ensure training quality, by including the new recruit to attend the next larger training seminar even when the topics discussed are similar.

Another attitude towards training that decreases its affectivity is that many employees treat training as a day out of the office. It is another mental exercise day. Due to this, training is attended only for compliance and not for self or safety improvement. For employees occupying higher positions, training is taken more lightly. The higher the position goes, the less attentive the attendee. Sad but true, because even as the concern is improvement, the actual result is good money that is wasted. This is complicated by phone calls that kept on interrupting, even for employees that are really trying to participate. The usual reason is that there are affairs in the office that only the person on the phone could handle.

Boring modules, poor presentations, and dry delivery fails even the best and most important of topics. Attendees will actually try understanding and make the effort to cooperate but the span will be short. 

The Proposal

Training must be an enjoyable experience. Encouraging light exchanges of personal experiences as it relates to the subject at hand, avoiding dry, boring, and long and dull delivery. Subjects must be well thought off and relevant yet encouraging levity and interaction. Module content should be exciting and compelling. Topics must be reality based and are best if the discussion is anchored on actual experiences in the work place. Because it is within the actual realm of workplace experience, the training is more meaningful, better remembered, and is better acted on by the trainees.

A department in the office that cannot function without a leader's supervision is not an efficient organization. That is a subject for other training. The idea is when leaders like supervisors and middle managers are called to attend a seminar; interruptions must be totally discouraged except on matters that are absolutely needed. This means that everything must be set aside and the calendar vacated in favor of the seminar because when it is not, there are supervisors and managers that will actually encourage calls to create an impression of importance thus negating the value of the training because of continuous interruption and the competing for attention.

Workplace safety is one of the most valuable of training programs, as it is one of the most tangible and visible effort that the management is truly looking out solely for the betterment of the employee.

It is your business to protect yourself and your colleagues from workplace violence. After all, it is not only in the neighborhood or in very public areas where violence could happen. Even in a space as small as your office cubicle or an area that is presumably safe as your office's parking lot, crimes could still happen.

Prevent any crime from happening to you or to your colleague by doing the following:

Keep your belongings safe.

Whether it's your purse, bag, wallet, keys, or money, all your valuables must be secured. Bring these with you at all times or secure them away in a locked closet or cabinet.

Be alert when dealing with strangers.

Be mindful of the identities of strangers who are entering your organization's premises. If possible, inquire about their purpose of being in your workplace premises and whether you can offer your assistance.

When it comes to visitors, be sure to provide them an escort. This ensures their safety as well as yours.

Also, don't forget to ask for the identification of utility and service workers. Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable should be relayed to the security management.

Be discreet in your dealings with strangers. Do not advertise any of your or your colleague's engagements to visitors unless they need that information.

Check for doors and locks.

Good locks and doors are your first line of defense in terms of physical security. Ensure that your company is using high security locks or decent electronic access control units on all doors, be it outdoors or indoors doors, basement doors, or cabinet doors.

Also, ensure that all doors are solid and that hinges and doorframes are sturdy enough to withstand the force of hammers, bolt cutters, drills, and blow-torches. Sheet steel metals are a no-no as these can be pried open easily.

If any doors in your office have locking knobs or levers, ask the management or the security management to have deadbolt installed for better security. If you are moving into a new office, request for a change of locks to have the assurance that no one outside your organization have keys to your doors.

Ensure that all windows are properly secured.

Report any broken window, door or lock. Do not assume that someone else have done this already or is planning to do it. Do it yourself.

Check for the lights.

Illuminate dim-lighted places by installing additional lights, by rearranging the office furniture, by utilizing natural light, and by clearing any debris that is blocking the source of light. Also, install constant outdoor lights and motion sensitive lights. When the business is closed, leave some interior lights on.

Secure common trouble spots.

Reception area, out-of-the-way corridors, elevators, stairwells, parking area or garages, mailrooms, and restrooms are areas where you are most vulnerable. Ask the management whether improvements on security can be made on any of these areas.

On working after hours.

Create a safety system that can ensure that you are not alone in the workplace premises after hours. Inform the security management when you are working alone so appropriate escort can be provided to you. In addition, maintain office security by not opening the doors to any strangers after work hours.