Workplace violence is ranked as the number one concern for employees. With more than 356,000 violent workplace incidents reported by Statistics Canada in 2004 with associated costs of up to $36 billion annually, workplace safety is becoming a growing concern for business owners.  

Understanding workplace violence, identifying your risk factors, and implementing professional office security solutions are significant steps to take to protect your workplace from violence.  

What is Workplace Violence?

Workplace violence includes any act in which a person is abused, threatened, intimidated or assaulted in their employment.  

This includes verbal abuse, pranks, arguments, property damage and employee vandalism.  In addition, workplace violence can occur outside of the traditional workplace at any business-related function or work social event.  

The Risk Factors

According to the Canadian Center of Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S), certain work factors, processes and interactions can increase the risk of workplace violence. 

These risk factors can include:

• Handling money, valuables or prescription drugs
• Working with the public
• Carrying out inspection or enforcement duties
• Providing service, care, advice or education
• Working with unstable or volatile persons
• Working in premises where alcohol is served
• Working alone, in small numbers
• Working in community-based settings
• Having a mobile workplace
• Working during periods of intense organizational change
  

Risk of violence can also increase seasonally or at certain times of day.  For example, risk of violence increases during late hours of the night, or early in the morning.  Likewise, the holiday season and tax return season also increase the risk of violence.  

What To Do To Protect Employees

Firstly I recommend you conduct a workplace risk assessment to determine your workplace violence risk factors.  

Once the risk factors are determined, you can implement the appropriate security solutions to reduce risk and properly protect your employees.  Depending on your risk factors, we recommend you should consider:      

A Live Central Station Monitoring System

Sonitrol has a professional and attentive staff who will monitor your facility 24/7 and alert police to any visible violent behaviour. If there is an incident in the workplace during business hours, our central station monitoring staff will take the appropriate action.

Office Access Control 

We always recommend that you control which employees have access to your site or workplace at all times.  Electronic keys or fobs, can be used to restrict, control and monitor access to specific areas at specific times, and can be easily deactivated following employee termination.  

Panic Buttons

We believe the front line employees who are working in a potentially difficult situation as identified in your risk assessment, should be provided with panic buttons that can be strategically placed throughout a workplace.  

They should be silent so our monitoring station is able to take immediate action. Employees can be trained to use these buttons in an emergency to trigger CCTV monitoring from Sonitrol, and if necessary, a quick police response.  

Lockdown Procedures

In the event of an emergency, in a private workplace or a public building, a lockdown procedure is required. A lockdown is tightly controlled by various security protocols and best practices, and can specifically respond to various workplace violence risk assessment (OH&S Guide, p.28).  

In conclusion we recommend your employees should work in a safe and secure workplace with alarm monitoring and a quality security system in place.  If you have a concern our professional security consultants will gladly help you with a workplace risk assessment.

About Sonitrol Western Canada

We're so confident in our technology and responsive service, that no one else in the industry can match our guarantee.  Our unique verified audio and CCTV video business security solutions enable our operators to hear and see what is happening in your business before the criminals gain entry!!  We verify the actual source of the alarm, and we get the police to attend the scene immediately.  FOR A FREE SECURITY AUDIT, click here, or call 1-866-766-4876 - We are a security company with over 150 offices across North America serving clients across Western Canada in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon.  

Sonitrol Western Canada, with its Verified Electronic Security Systems, is committed to providing customers with the most comprehensive security protection.  Cooperation in the elimination of false alarms is not only beneficial to the system’s user, but results in better protection of the entire community by allowing law enforcement to use their resources as efficiently as possible.