Running header: VIOLENCE AT WORKPLACES

Violence at workplaces

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Workplace violence has become one of the most popular phenomena in most

companies across the nation. Acts of violence include the issuance of threats and physical

harm to the employees or even the employer. It is not easy to work in a violent workplace.

The success of an organization is doomed if the different employees exhibit actions of

violence. The management must ensure that the workers are protected under all

circumstances. Firms that do not respond to the concerns of the organization are more likely

not to attain their goals at the end of the day because of the same. Violence at an

organization can be between employees, employer versus employee, or employer versus the

client. The management has to swing into action very fast to counter cases of violence at their

workplaces to ensure that they remain at the top of the game for a long period.

Violence at workplaces can affect employers in different ways if the matter is not

addressed with immediate effect. First and foremost, workplace violence increases the cost of

counseling. The firm will be forced to hire counselors to help the employees' resume work

after being exposed to acts of violence. Companies across the world strive to increase their

profits while at the same time reducing their costs of operation. The firm is bound to suffer

massive losses if it spends a lot of money on counseling employees when they should be

working towards increasing the productivity of the same. Secondly, workplace violence is

also likely to damage the reputation of the employer. The outside world will perceive the firm

from a negative angle if cases of violence persist at the workplace. The management of the

firm must ensure that such incidents are addressed with immediate effect before the

information comes into the public domain (Chappell & Martino, 2016). Thirdly¸ violence at

work can lead to safety concerns on the part of the management. The management will be

compelled to find ways of ensuring that the employees are safe. In other words, the firm

could be forced to install CCTV cameras and more security persons at the workplace to

monitor the events regularly so that they can determine the source of the problem and address
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the same before it is too later. The employer will be expected to set aside more funds to

recruit security guards within the organization in readiness for possible acts of violence that

are bound to rock the firm at some point or another.

Violence at the workplace can also impact negatively on the lives of the employees

while in the line of their duties. First, violence is likely to make employees less productive

than they should be within the organization. Violence makes employees restless whenever

they report to work and they cannot meet the expectations of their employers. The hostile

treatment at different departments within the workplace will demoralize most of the staff

members within the business or company. The employees will not show commitment to meet

the goals of the management if not action is taken to counter the same. The management has

to ensure that acts of violence are not part and parcel of the organization. Secondly, violence

can encourage absenteeism at work (Chappell & Martino, 2016). Employees of the firm are

likely to stay away from their departments because of the frustrations they encounter. The

increased cases of absenteeism will lead to reduced levels of production within the

organization. The management needs to handle the same to avoid cases of absenteeism as

witnessed in some of the organizations within the nation. Violence at the workplace is also

likely to make employees incur extra costs on medication. Companies that do not take care of

the medication of the employees leave them to dig into their pockets to pay for the same

(Adamson, 2012).

One of the ways the employees and employers can lower the impact of violence at

the workplace is creating effective lines of communication. Lack of communication can lead

to misunderstanding among different members of the organization hence leading to violence.

Proper communication among staff members from different departments will make them

understand the goals of the organizations and work hard towards their achievement. The firm
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will be better placed to be more productive if there is effective communication within

different departments. Creating awareness and training the staff on the key factors that

contribute to violence is also another strategy that can lower the impact of the same. The

employees and employer need to identify the source of stress for the firm so that they can

address them before things run out of control. Thirdly, it is also advisable for the firm to

encourage the employees of the organization to accept the differences in their lives. The

differences can make some of the employees feel superior to others when that is not the case

on the ground (Olweus et al., 2019)

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References

Adamson, M. (2012). Violence at workplaces. AFRICAN NEWSLETTER ON

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY, 12(1), 15-16.

& Di Martino, V. (2016). Violence at work. International Labour Organization.

Olweus, D., Limber, S., & Mihalic, S. F. (2019). Blueprints for violence prevention, book
nine: Bullying prevention program. Boulder, CO: Center for the Study and Prevention of
Violence.