BATON ROUGE, La. -- With nearly 2 million American workers the victims of workplace violence each year, Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation (LWCC) is reminding employers to establish, review and enforce workplace violence prevention policies as a means of reducing risk.

Workplace violence is violence or the threat of violence against employees. It can happen at or outside the workplace and can range from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and homicide, which is one of the leading causes of job-related deaths, second only to motor vehicle crashes.

Every day, an estimated 16,400 threats are made in the workplace, 723 workers are attacked and 43,800 employees are harassed. Occupations with the highest rates of occupational homicide include taxicab drivers, law enforcement officers, hotel clerks, gas station workers and security guards. According to recent studies, assaults and violent acts in the workplace accounted for 11% of Louisiana's fatal work-related injuries. The 2005 average for U.S. workers was 14%.

"Workplace violence comes with not only an emotional toll, but a financial one as well," says Michael Dileo, LWCC's vice president of production. "Employers find themselves paying a huge price for lost time, lost productivity, medical costs, litigation, lost trade and more.  A decrease in productivity and losses of up to 80% often occur for nearly two weeks following an incident, and some companies experience high employee turnover because the workplace no longer 'feels safe.'"

According to Dileo, there are many things employers can do to make a workplace safe from violence, including such measures as the following:

• Establish strictly enforced workplace violence prevention policies.
• Provide safety education--including educating workers in positive communication and conflict resolution techniques to use with both customers and co-workers; training employees in the warning signs of aggressive or violent behavior; and instructing employees not to enter anywhere they feel unsafe.
• Secure the workplace--including providing drop safes to limit the amount of cash on hand, increasing security by improving exterior/interior lighting, installing door controls, installing alarms and security cameras around the premises and adding additional security guards.
• Equip field staff with cell phones and noise devices and make sure someone is aware of their location throughout the day.
• Encourage employees to report threats or violent behavior.
• Provide post-termination counseling through an employee assistance program (EAP), which helps laid off/fired employees with locating confidential counseling services for financial, legal, personal or emotional problems.
• Treat all threats seriously.

While there are many things that employers can do to prevent workplace violence, LWCC recommends several things that employees can and should do to protect themselves in the workplace. They include the following:

• Treat all threats seriously.
• Learn how to recognize, avoid or diffuse potentially violent situations by attending personal safety training programs.
• Alert supervisors to any concerns about safety or security and report all incidents immediately in writing.
• Avoid traveling alone into unfamiliar locations or situations whenever possible.
• Carry only minimal money and required identification into community settings.

As part of its commitment to helping businesses integrate safety management into their company culture, LWCC provides a variety of online articles and resources on this and other important workplace safety topics. For more information on workplace violence prevention, including "Workplace Violence Perpetrator Profile," "Patterns of Behavior for Violence Perpetrators," "Steps for Avoiding Workplace Violence," and "Guidelines in the Event of a Workplace Altercation or Confrontation," visit LWCC's website at www.lwcc.com.

LWCC (www.lwcc.com) is a private, nonprofit mutual insurance company.  It is Louisiana's largest writer of workers' compensation insurance, covering about 22,000 policyholders in the state. The company carries an "A" (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best and, for the sixth year in a row, was named one of the top 50 property and casualty insurance companies in the nation by Ward Group, the leading authority on insurance industry benchmarking.

Sources:   

Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals 
NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health)
OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration)
United States Department of Labor