workplace violence prevention managing anger and aggression in the workplace
TRANSCRIPT
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTIONMANAGING ANGER AND AGGRESSION IN THE WORKPLACE
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU HEAR THE TERM, WORKPLACE VIOLENCE?
WHAT IS WORKPLACE VIOLENCE?
For our purposes, it’s any incident that could:
• escalate and threaten the safety and security of an employee
• make an employee feel afraid to come to work, stay at work, or interact with others;
• involve vandalism to company or personal property;
• start at home and crossover to the workplace.
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE INCLUDES BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
• Pushing, shoving, beating, stabbing, shooting, rape, homicide and suicide
• Threats to cause harm – verbal, written, intimidating body language
• Destruction of property
• Shouting, swearing
• Bullying
• Stalking
• Obscene phone calls, e-mails, texts
MCCABE HAMILTON & RENNY WORKPLACE VIOLENCE POLICY
• Acts and threats of violence and aggression will not be tolerated.
• You are expected to report any threats or acts of violence or potentially dangerous persons.
• You are protected from retaliation if you report.
ANGER
• ALERTS US OF A POTENTIAL THREAT
• SIGNALS THAT YOU FEEL SOMETHING IS WRONG
• IS A NORMAL HEALTHY EMOTION
ANGER – AN EMOTION THAT CAN ESCALATE TO
VIOLENCE
EMOTIONS, ENERGY, AND THE BODY
ANGER IS A “SECONDARY” EMOTION THAT MAY COVER FOR:
• Fear
• Hurt
• Loss
• Abandonment
• Disappointment
WHY ARE WE ANGRY?
Emotional defense
Anger makes us feel powerful
We fear losing control or being hurt
Injustice: Real or imagined
Everything seems like a personal attack
We expect others to be or think like us
We learned to solve our problems through angry behavior
WHO MAKES YOU ANGRY?
LOOOOK in THE MIRRRROR!• No one …
• “makes us mad”
• “makes us do” angry things
• “makes us have” angry thoughts
• “makes us say” angry words
Taking responsibility for our feelings empowers us!
RESPONSIBILITY = RESPONSE + ABILITY
The Ability to Respond• Blaming the other for our feelings gives our
power away to them• Taking responsibility allows us to choose
our response
NATURE VERSUS NURTURE
• Temperament is inherited.
• How we choose to respond to “triggers” is based on what we’ve learned.
• Illnesses, injuries, and chemical substances can affect our responses.
PRIMARY STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH ANGRY FEELINGS
• Expressing
• In an assertive, not aggressive way
• Suppressing
• Rechanneling and Refocusing –
• May have negative effects
• Calming
• Taking steps to lower heart rate, let feelings subside
Anger Management1. Recognizing “hazardous” situations
2. Being able to discipline yourself to become aware of where you are feeling what you are feeling
3. Calming
4. Speaking respectfully about your feelings and your view of the situation
KNOWING OUR RED FLAGS
• Triggers (Likely Anger Situations)
• Physical Responses (What’s happening in your body)
• Behavioral Signs (The habits you have when getting angry)
• Thought Patterns (Automatic thoughts that you have used in the past)
• Mental Imagery (What you see yourself doing if….)
Anger Scale
Helps us:
1. Recognize our level of anger.
2. Know when we need to use a strategy to reduce our level of escalation.
• Build an identity outside of work
• Exercise
• Relaxation
• Play
• Deepening relationships
• Stress management
• EAP as a resource
• Time out
• Breathing
• Engaging senses
• Calming thoughts
• Life saver technique
DE-ESCALATION STRATEGIES
Immediate Long Term
PREVENTING WORKPLACE VIOLENCETHE RESPECTFUL WORKPLACE
• Starts with each one of us.
• Are we respectful of others?
• Stopping the seeds of violence.
EXAMPLES OF DISRESPECT
• Rolling eyes or giving “stink eye”
• Gossiping
• Putting others down with jokes or sarcasm
• Know it all attitude
EXAMPLES OF DISRESPECT
• Blaming others for mistakes, never taking responsibility for them
• Continual complaining and negativity
• Ignoring
THE DISRESPECTFUL WORKPLACE
• Creates tension, anxiety, and stress in the workplace.
• Affects productivity
• When interpersonal conflicts are left unresolved - they can escalate
to more serious levels of violence.
SELF ASSESSMENT……..AM I RESPECTFUL?
• Do I interrupt?
• Am I impatient?
• Do I listen to others?
• Am I reliable?
• Do I lose my temper often?
• Am I consistently critical or negative?
• Do I like to argue or provoke people?
WHAT TO DO WHEN CONFRONTED WITH AGGRESSION
• If at all possible avoid the situation
• Stay calm - becoming angry too will just make things worse
• Listen - sometimes the best thing to say is nothing
• Try to hear what the person is saying• What do they want?
• What’s upsetting them ?
• What needs to be done for them to be able to calm down?
• As soon as possible, create space
• Debrief with a supervisor
EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE OF THE PACIFIC
• Short term professional counseling – 8 sessions per year
• No cost to employee
• Confidential – employer is not informed
• Phone 597-8222