Workplace Aggression: The Scope of the Problem

Overview/Description
 When you read or hear about a violent incident at work, do you figure that somebody just "flipped out," or that special circumstances at that workplace--unlike those at your own company--set the scene? Unfortunately, workplace violence is an exploding phenomenon, one every manager needs to know about and prepare for. In this course, you'll see the real scope of the problem, from low-level hostility to murder, get a sense of what may be causing this issue to mushroom, and see who most often commits violent acts at work. You'll also see why the belief that "somebody suddenly just flipped out" is, in most cases, completely wrong. And you'll learn some of the basic warning signs that an individual is progressing toward a violent episode.

Target Audience
 Top-level Managers, Training Managers, Human Resource Managers, Functional Managers, Supervisors, Team Leaders

Expected Duration
4.5 hours

Lesson Objectives:

An Explosion of Incidents

  • recognize the critical importance of having accurate information about violence in the workplace.
  • match functional definitions for each of the terms presented: hostility, aggression, and violence.
  • identify true statements concerning nonfatal violent incidents at work.
  • identify true statements concerning actual homicides and suicides at work.
  • identify true and false statements about the kinds of workers who generally experience high levels of violence at work.

    • Cultural and Economic Reasons

  • recognize the value of knowing which factors contribute to increased workplace violence.
  • given a case study, select valid ways that the person described might have been influenced by the glamorization of violence in our culture to become more violent.
  • choose correct statements concerning the proliferation of guns in today's society.
  • identify traditional stabilizing influences that have become weakened in the past 20 years, offering less support to those prone to violent responses.
  • identify stressful situations that could potentially lead to violence.

    • The Myth of "No Warning"

  • recognize the benefits of knowing the violence warning signs which may allow you to avert an incident.
  • place events in correct chronological order, showing the progression of a person's psychological state from hostility to violence.
  • identify true statements about the role profanity plays in signaling the potential of a violent incident.
  • identify common warning signs, other than profanity, that signal spiraling violence tendencies.
  • identify the probable precipitating event that moved a person in a scenario to a violent response.

    • The Most Common Types of Violence

  • recognize the value of knowing which situations most commonly set the stage for violence at work.
  • identify statements that show the true scope of the problem concerning hostile, aggressive, and violent incidents at work.
  • identify employee traits associated with workplace violence.
  • identify the ways in which domestic violence can affect workplace violence.
  • identify the nonemployees who most frequently commit violent acts in the workplace.

    • Course Number: HR0341