The Need for a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan - Dissertation Example

11). While it might be difficult, and sobering, to convince a reluctant boss that consideration must be given to keep all of their employees safe form violence while on the job, it is certainly worth the effort. To begin, it is helpful to point out some real world examples that bring the problem a little bit closer to home. Consider a bank, where tellers are on the frontline of ealing with the public on a daily basis, with thousands (in some cases much more) of dollars in their grasp. Without a violence prevention program in tact, an unsuspecting teller, and the public at large, can quickly become the victim of a violent act of grave proportions.

There are many types of businesses that have a propensity towards violence occurring in the workplace. Consider any business that has its primary function being various interactions with the public. By the sheer nature of having unsecured people entering the office or place of business on a daily basis, all employees and an unsuspecting public are put at risk. To not have some type of prevention effort in place to ward off possible attacks, management and owners are simply doing a disservice to the very employees that have devoted their working lives to the company.

This is not to mention the customers who have a basic assumption that they are safe during the time that they are in a place of business. The management and owners owe it to the very customers that make them money to keep them relatively safe from harm in every way possible. Owners need to be aware of the risks, and cannot simply adopt a ‘this will not happen us’ mentality. A firm example of this can be seen in a company that utilises armoured trucks to transport money and various precious metals around major cities all across the United States.

Such employees literally put their lives on the line to protect that which they are transporting, yet they all too often become victims of violent crimes. Without an adequate plan of workplace violence prevention, the drivers and guards would be left at a loss for which protocols to follow when they are under threat (Bruce & Nowlin, 2011, p. 294). Yet, almost all such companies do have a violence prevention plan in place. Naturally, such a plan does not work in every case, unfortunately, but they have thwarted many a violent attack in the past, and will continue to do so in the future.

The owner who simply says that their business is not subject to violent attacks, such as the one described in this example, is missing the point. Any business that has any number of employees is, at some point, vulnerable to an attack. Consider any transportation company. Their drivers would be under the risk of attack from criminals who would seek to rob them of their merchandise. Any employee, working alone or with a partner, that is off site for any part of the work day is in a dangerous position and should have some kind of protection to ward off a possible violent attack that might occur.

It is not only businesses that work with the public that are subject to violent attacks either. Consider the recent attacks at post offices, tax agencies, and general office