workplace violence prevention managing anger and aggression in the workplace

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTIONMANAGING ANGER AND AGGRESSION IN THE WORKPLACE

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU HEAR THE TERM, WORKPLACE VIOLENCE?

WHAT IS WORKPLACE VIOLENCE?

For our purposes, it’s any incident that could:

• escalate and threaten the safety and security of an employee

• make an employee feel afraid to come to work, stay at work, or interact with others;

• involve vandalism to company or personal property;

• start at home and crossover to the workplace.

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE INCLUDES BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• Pushing, shoving, beating, stabbing, shooting, rape, homicide and suicide

• Threats to cause harm – verbal, written, intimidating body language

• Destruction of property

• Shouting, swearing

• Bullying

• Stalking

• Obscene phone calls, e-mails, texts

MCCABE HAMILTON & RENNY WORKPLACE VIOLENCE POLICY

• Acts and threats of violence and aggression will not be tolerated.

• You are expected to report any threats or acts of violence or potentially dangerous persons.

• You are protected from retaliation if you report.

ANGER

• ALERTS US OF A POTENTIAL THREAT

• SIGNALS THAT YOU FEEL SOMETHING IS WRONG

• IS A NORMAL HEALTHY EMOTION

ANGER – AN EMOTION THAT CAN ESCALATE TO

VIOLENCE

EMOTIONS, ENERGY, AND THE BODY

ANGER IS A “SECONDARY” EMOTION THAT MAY COVER FOR:

• Fear

• Hurt

• Loss

• Abandonment

• Disappointment

WHY ARE WE ANGRY?

Emotional defense

Anger makes us feel powerful

We fear losing control or being hurt

Injustice: Real or imagined

Everything seems like a personal attack

We expect others to be or think like us

We learned to solve our problems through angry behavior

WHO MAKES YOU ANGRY?

LOOOOK in THE MIRRRROR!• No one …

• “makes us mad”

• “makes us do” angry things

• “makes us have” angry thoughts

• “makes us say” angry words

Taking responsibility for our feelings empowers us!

RESPONSIBILITY = RESPONSE + ABILITY

The Ability to Respond• Blaming the other for our feelings gives our

power away to them• Taking responsibility allows us to choose

our response

NATURE VERSUS NURTURE

• Temperament is inherited.

• How we choose to respond to “triggers” is based on what we’ve learned.

• Illnesses, injuries, and chemical substances can affect our responses.

PRIMARY STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH ANGRY FEELINGS

• Expressing

• In an assertive, not aggressive way

• Suppressing

• Rechanneling and Refocusing –

• May have negative effects

• Calming

• Taking steps to lower heart rate, let feelings subside

Anger Management1. Recognizing “hazardous” situations

2. Being able to discipline yourself to become aware of where you are feeling what you are feeling

3. Calming

4. Speaking respectfully about your feelings and your view of the situation

KNOWING OUR RED FLAGS

• Triggers (Likely Anger Situations)

• Physical Responses (What’s happening in your body)

• Behavioral Signs (The habits you have when getting angry)

• Thought Patterns (Automatic thoughts that you have used in the past)

• Mental Imagery (What you see yourself doing if….)

Anger Scale

Helps us:

1. Recognize our level of anger.

2. Know when we need to use a strategy to reduce our level of escalation.

• Build an identity outside of work

• Exercise

• Relaxation

• Play

• Deepening relationships

• Stress management

• EAP as a resource

• Time out

• Breathing

• Engaging senses

• Calming thoughts

• Life saver technique

DE-ESCALATION STRATEGIES

Immediate Long Term

PREVENTING WORKPLACE VIOLENCETHE RESPECTFUL WORKPLACE

• Starts with each one of us.

• Are we respectful of others?

• Stopping the seeds of violence.

EXAMPLES OF DISRESPECT

• Rolling eyes or giving “stink eye”

• Gossiping

• Putting others down with jokes or sarcasm

• Know it all attitude

EXAMPLES OF DISRESPECT

• Blaming others for mistakes, never taking responsibility for them

• Continual complaining and negativity

• Ignoring

THE DISRESPECTFUL WORKPLACE

• Creates tension, anxiety, and stress in the workplace.

• Affects productivity

• When interpersonal conflicts are left unresolved - they can escalate

to more serious levels of violence.

SELF ASSESSMENT……..AM I RESPECTFUL?

• Do I interrupt?

• Am I impatient?

• Do I listen to others?

• Am I reliable?

• Do I lose my temper often?

• Am I consistently critical or negative?

• Do I like to argue or provoke people?

WHAT TO DO WHEN CONFRONTED WITH AGGRESSION

• If at all possible avoid the situation

• Stay calm - becoming angry too will just make things worse

• Listen - sometimes the best thing to say is nothing

• Try to hear what the person is saying• What do they want?

• What’s upsetting them ?

• What needs to be done for them to be able to calm down?

• As soon as possible, create space

• Debrief with a supervisor

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE OF THE PACIFIC

• Short term professional counseling – 8 sessions per year

• No cost to employee

• Confidential – employer is not informed

• Phone 597-8222