Violence in the World of Work
It used to be known as “going postal”, now the term has “come correct” -politically correct, that is. Now known as violence in the workplace; it is the act of violence of one coworker upon another and it is happening all over the United States. It seems as more and more competition enters the work force those attempting to maintain their own positions and value in the work environment are coming under increasing demands. These demands are due in part to new technology. This new technology removes much of the human labor and replaces it with a machine designed to mimic the actions formerly carried out by the human. The realized stress and perhaps a bit of anxiety that is realized when machines begin working and the human notes that indeed he might be the human to be replaced next. All things combine and result in a basic accumulation that result in what the human perceives as stress.
Working under stressful conditions is undesirable to humans. Since the day immediately following Henry Ford's assembly line creation, employers began expecting humans to work as long and as hared as the machinery and equipment as a direct result of the new technology. Would you want to work under such conditions? Chances are you are already trying to keep pace with equipment in the work environment. Generally speaking, technology has touched practically every aspect of the human work force in some form or another.
Clearly, the United States Postal Service is one of the forerunners in applied technology and historically demonstrated the questionable success when implementation of the faster, better approach becomes reality. For example, ever since 1986, mailman Patrick Sherrill shot and killed 14 postal workers in Edmond, Oklahoma. Workplace violence seems to be on the upswing, more than 2,000 incidents have occurred in American post offices in the last four years alone (1990-1994)--everything from vandalism to multiple murder.
Of course postal employees are not the only sector of society being pushed to the very limits of human tolerance in the face of corporate demands. Companies now insist on increased efficiency in spite of whatever toll it might take on the employees.
In fact, historically, very little consideration has been given to the plight of the workers. Perhaps now that the media has amplified the unseen risks associated with the real work world and some corporations have even witnessed the end result when working conditions are ignored. Xerox is one such company that got a taste of the human reality on November 2, 1999. When Byron Uyesugi of Honolulu, Hawaii, shot and killed seven coworkers. Uyesugi is now serving a life sentence for his actions. Unfortunately, sensational acts of coworker violence (which form only a small part of the problem) are often over emphasized by the media to the exclusion of the almost daily killings of taxi drivers, convenience store clerks and others. In the case of the Xerox deaths, many experts said “the human loss is incalculable, the financial loss as yet unresolved”.
So how much violence is taking place in the work place? Figures change slightly from year to year, but in 1998, only 15 percent of the work-related homicides were classified as co-worker vs. co-worker, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another federal source, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said in a 1997 study that just 9 percent of workplace homicides were actions carried out by and against co-workers. Studies show at least two-thirds of all workplace homicides are the result of attempted robberies.
Perhaps avoidance of unexpected outbursts of violence is just one more benefit to add to the list for those who elect to work from home. I would not go so far as to suggest that telecommuting can save your life, but the fact is, an average of 20 workers are murdered and 18,000 are assaulted each week while at work or on duty. Yet, while the figures are high most murders and assaults are not coworker vs. coworker but an outside source of violence. Here is but one more reason for employers to be concerned about potential violence and hazards in the workplace, an OSHA directive.
Employers can be held liable for Workplace Violence when it can be shown there is some type of negligent hiring, negligent retention and/or inadequate safeguards to provide a “safe and healthful workplace” (OSHA directive).
Well, that changes the situation considerably doesn't it? If OSHA is holding employers responsible for the health and well being of those they employ while they are carrying out their tasks and duties then it stands to reason that the courts in the US will be doing the same. Those professionals must recognize this fact, and the corporate society must come to terms with it if they are going to be financially, morally, and publicly effective in thwarting future occurrences. Past media exploits, experiences or observations of only certain kinds of scenarios is certainly no true indicator that those are the only acts of violence that must be prevented.
