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An unfortunate trend in today''s workplace is the growing number of violent incidents.
At the National Safety Council''s (NSC) Congress & Expo 2000, in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 13-20, two technical sessions on violence in the workplace will provide safety professionals the basic tools to understand and respond to violent incidents.
In addition, a full-day professional development seminar will teach techniques for controlling conflict, confrontation and emotions in the workplace.
According to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1998, approximately 1,000 employees are murdered each year on the job and 2 million incidents of violence are reported.
More than 56 percent of workplace homicides occur in retail and service industries.
As the economy continues to shift toward the service sectors, fatal and nonfatal assaults will be an increasingly important safety and health issue.
The "Violence in the Workplace" technical session on Monday, Oct. 16, will address the causes of violence at work, the financial impact of a violent incident, guidelines for response, legal implications of violent incidents, a review of operations to ensure the proper procedures and training are in place, and dealing with the aftermath of violence.
"Workplace Violence and You," on Wednesday, Oct. 18, will show how understanding the complexities of workplace violence is the key to overcoming the problem.
Anyone can become involved in a workplace violence incident -- as a victim, a survivor, a witness or a solution. This session addresses how to identify rage buildup, how to cope with it, and how to prevent it.
A related professional development seminar on Thursday, Oct. 19, addresses how to "Control Conflict, Confrontation and Emotions for a Safer Workplace."
Conflict is inevitable. Anger, grudges, hurt and blame are not. Professionals will learn how to meet disagreements head-on, understand escalation, prevent disagreement from becoming arguments, and apply "emotional first-aid."
For more information on these events of any of the other 150 technical sessions and professional development seminars at this year''s NSC Congress & Expo, visit NSC''s Web site at www.nsc.org.
by Virginia Sutcliffe
