Understanding Workplace Violence: A Guide for Managers and Employees

145 Pages·2006·0.84 MB·English

by  Michele A. Paludi, Rudy V. Nydegger, Carmen A. Paludi

U nderstanding
Workplace Violence
U nderstanding
Workplace Violence
A Guide for Managers and Employees
M ichele A. Paludi
Rudy V. Nydegger
Carmen A. Paludi Jr.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Paludi, Michele Antoinette.
Understanding workplace violence : a guide for managers and employees /
Michele A. Paludi, Rudy Nydegger, Carmen A. Paludi Jr.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–275–99086–9 (alk. paper)
1. Violence in the workplace. I. Nydegger, Rudy II. Paludi, Carmen A.
III. Title.
HF5549.5.E43P35 2006
658.4’73—dc22 2006022940
B ritish Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
C opyright © 2006 by Michele A. Paludi, Rudy V. Nydegger and Carmen A. Paludi Jr.
A ll rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
r eproduced, by any process or technique, without the
e xpress written consent of the publisher.
L ibrary of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006022940
I SBN: 0–275–99086–9
F irst published in 2006
P raeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
A n imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
w ww.praeger.com
P rinted in the United States of America
T e paper used in this book complies with the
P ermanent Paper Standard issued by the National
I nformation Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
T o those whose lives have been aff ected by workplace violence and to
the memory of those who did not survive it.
Contents
P reface ix
A cknowledgments xiii
1 Understanding Workplace Violence: Myths and Realities 1
2 What Is Workplace Violence? 13
3 I ncidence of Workplace Violence and Impact on
Employees and Organizations 27
4 Factors Contributing to Workplace Violence 37
5 Workplace Sexual Harassment 53
6 Intimate Partner Violence as a Workplace Concern 73
7 M anaging Violence, Aggression, and Other Abusive
Behaviors in the Workplace 87
N otes 109
I ndex 123
P reface
During the course of writing this book, approximately two million workplace
assaults occurred in the United States, sixteen million workers were sexu-
ally harassed, and 13,000 women employees were victimized at their job by
a current or former mate/spouse.1 No occupation is immune from workplace
violence although there are some occupations that are at increased risk. For
example, hospital employees are at high risk for experiencing violence in the
workplace. 2 Assaults occur when service is denied, when a patient is involun-
tarily admitted, or when a nurse sets limits on eating, drinking, or the use of to-
bacco and alcohol. Other employees who are at high risk of workplace violence
are those who exchange money with the public, for example, convenience store
clerks, and those who deliver passengers, for example, taxi drivers. 3 Seventy-six
percent of all workplace homicides are committed with a fi rearm.4
T ese statistics are alarming. T e actual incidents are even more startling.
For example:
• I n January 2006, Jennifer Sanmarco, a former postal worker in Goleta, California,
shot fi ve people before killing herself. She had been on medical leave due to psy-
chological problems for two years. However, she was able to get inside the fenced
and guarded area surrounding the postal facility. She took an employee’s electronic
identifi cation badge at gunpoint.
• I n June 2005, David Wilhelm entered the EPAC plastics plant in Savoy, Texas, and
killed his estranged wife and her male co-worker, Felipe de Leon, before shooting
h imself. T e Wilhelms were in the process of divorcing.