Healthcare Workers. Workplace Violence - Research Paper Example

? Workplace Violence Workplace Violence Work place violence occurs at or outside the workplace and ranges from threats and verbal abuses to physical assaults and homicide. Perpetrators of workplace violence are customers, co-workers, employers, acquaintances or complete strangers (NIOSH, 2007). Criminal violence occurs where the perpetrator lack a legitimate relationship with the business or employees. This violence is committed by total strangers committing a crime such as robbery, shoplifting, or trespassing. Violence perpetrated by customers occurs when the client becomes violent while being served by the business. Such perpetrators include customers, patients, inmates, and other groups of people who receive regular services from the business. Healthcare facilities such as nursing homes and psychiatric facilities have the highest number of customer violence (Lee et al, 2010). Workplace violence is also perpetrated by fellow workers where an employee threatens or assaults another employee or past employee. Violence can also be perpetrated by individuals without any relationship with the business but have personal relationships with the victims. This includes victims of domestic violence who are attacked or assaulted while at work. The victims of workplace violence are mostly employees in the business. The victims have the responsibility of conducting business activities or providing services (Lee et al, 2010). Nurses and care givers in a nursing home or hospital may be attacked by violent patients. Shop attendants become victims of violent crimes such as robbery. Police officers and prison wardens are victims of violence from criminals and prisoners. Employees may be subjected to verbal abuses or unwanted touching from their supervisors (Lee et al, 2010). Harassment by senior employees is evident in workplaces such as warehouses. New employees or junior employees become victims of overworking, threats, and abuses from senior employees. Spouses may become victims of workplace violence when domestic violence extends to the workplace. An employee may be attacked or abused by the spouse in the workplace due to unresolved domestic issues (Lee et al, 2010). Risk factors include mental health disorders such as stress, anxiety, and drug intoxication are common among people who commit workplace violence. Employees, customers, or patients with mental disorders have the highest probability of becoming violent. The employees’ inability to deal with a crisis is another risk factor (Lee et al, 2010). Emergency situations in the workplace may increase the stress levels in an employee who loses control of the crisis and may perpetrate verbal violence. The age, years of experience, gender, hours worked, and marital status predispose workers to violence. Women and new employees may experience verbal and physical violence from senior employees. Employees dealing with the public such as police officers are exposed to attacks. Workers handling money such as cashiers are usually victims of criminal violence during robberies (OSHA, 2009). Employees working at night, guarding valuables, working in high crime areas, or transporting passengers have a high probability of being attacked. Workplace violence affects all stakeholders in a business. It has been estimated that organizations lose $202 billion annually due to workplace violence (Bowlers et al, 2007). Employers are affected by the violence due to reduced workdays and low employee morale. Employers also have to restore stolen property, replace damaged property, legal expenses, and compensate victims. Employees are also affected by the violence due to high levels of stress, physical injuries, depression, and high healthcare expenses. The personal relationships between employees also change in cases of employee-employee violence (Snyder, Chen and Vacha-Haase, 2007). Demoralization of employees leads to reduced job efficiency. This affects the quality of services delivered to customers and clients. Violence involving customer or clients may lead to lawsuits against the perpetrator where the victim seeks for compensation against injuries or damages. A business organization may terminate the contract of the client due to employee complaints of violence. Healthcare workers are 16 times more likely to experience workplace violence than other employees (Bowlers et al, 2007). Nursing home workers experience a higher number of aggressive incidents compared to nursing professionals in other settings. The short term effects of workplace violence in health care facilities include stress, depression, anxiety, fear, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Healthcare providers who have experienced violence live in fear of subsequent attacks. Nurses attacked by mentally ill patients may live in fear of attending to such patients (Bowlers et al, 2007). Prolonged fear leads to other mental health problems such as stress and depression. Mental health problems may affect the physical health by causing sleep disturbances or gastrointestinal problems. Employees who have experienced severe forms of violence such as shooting, rape, and physical assault develop post-traumatic stress disorder. This leads to depression and self-isolation by the victim due to fear of subsequent attacks. Stressed and depressed healthcare workers are detrimental due to poor services that may endanger the lives of patients (Bowlers et al, 2007). Workplace violence causes long term effects such as employee retention. The health care facility suffers from inability to recruit additional nurses and physicians due to reports of violence. Assaulted workers may also decide to quit their jobs and join other health facilities (Snyder, Chen and Vacha-Haase, 2007). This makes it hard to retain health professionals in the hospital. Professional healthcare providers are less likely to join or remain in the organization where a high number of violence incidents are reported. The tattered public image of the hospital or care center makes hard to retain health care professionals. Employees are mostly interested in a safe working environment that is free from physical injuries and other types of attacks. The prevalence of violence in a healthcare facility makes it hard to retain employees or hire new ones. Organizations lose billions of money due to workplace violence cases. Assaulted employees lose millions of workdays and wages annually. Assaulted nurses and physicians are given some days off their work in order to recover from the incident (Bowlers et al, 2007). High cases of violence increase the number of workdays lost due to leaves. The productivity of employees is reduced by such incidents, which lowers the profitability of the organization. Healthcare providers may suffer from physical injuries that reduce their efficiency and extent of work that they can accomplish. Psychological disturbances such as fear also reduce their productivity (Bowlers et al, 2007). The hospital or care facility experiences losses due to reduced productivity and poor job performance. Workplace violence damages the public image of the hospital or health facility. Workers and patients are likely to avoid health facilities with rampant cases of violence. Repairing the tattered public images takes a long time and the hospital may incur several financial losses. References Bowers, L., Allan, T., Simpson, A., Nijman, H., and Warren, J. (2007). Adverse incidents, patient flow, and nursing workforce variables on acute psychiatric wards: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 53(1), 75-84. Lee, G. G., Gates, D. M., Miller, M., and Howard, K. P. (2010). Workplace Violence in Healthcare Settings: Risk Factors and Protective Strategies. Rehabilitation Nursing, 35(5), 177-184. NIOSH. (2007). NIOSH & BLS Release Workplace Violence Prevention Results. Professional Safety, 52 (1), 45. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2009). Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs In Late-Night Retail Establishments. OSHA 3153-12R. Snyder, L.A., Chen, P.Y., and Vacha-Haase, T. (2007).The underreporting gap in aggressive incidents from geriatric patients against certified nursing assistants. Violence Vict, 22, 367-379. Read More