Employer Responses to Incidents of Violence
Post-incident response and evaluation are essential to maintaining an effective violence prevention program. When an incident occurs, the immediate first steps are to provide first aid and emergency care for the injured workers and to take any measures necessary to prevent others from being injured.
All workplace violence programs should provide comprehensive treatment for employees who are victimized personally or may be traumatized by witnessing a workplace violence incident. Injured staff should receive prompt treatment and psychological evaluation whenever an assault takes place, regardless of its severity. Also, injured workers should be provided transportation to medical care if not available on site.
Victims of workplace violence could suffer a variety of consequences in addition to their actual physical injuries. These may include:
- short- and long-term psychological trauma
- fear of returning to work
- changes in relationships with coworkers and family
- feelings of incompetence, guilt, powerlessness
- fear of criticism by supervisors or managers
A strong follow-up program for these workers will not only help them address these problems but also help prepare them to confront or prevent future incidents of violence.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
4-6. Injured staff should receive prompt treatment and psychological evaluation whenever an assault takes place, _____.
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