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Occupational Health Psychology > Chapter 8: Workplace Violence > Flashcards

Chapter 8: Workplace Violence Flashcards

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1
Q
  • Incivility
A

low intensity deviant behaviour with ambiguous intent to harm the target in violation of workplace norms for mutual respect

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2
Q
  • Aggression
A

behaviour by an individual or individuals within or outside the organization that is intended to physically or psychologically harm a worker or workers in a work-related context

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3
Q
  • Violence
A

the attempted, threatened or actual conduct of a person that endangers the health or safety of an employee, including any threatening statement or threatening behaviour that gives an employee reasonable cause to believe that the employee is at risk of injury

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4
Q
  • Harassment
A

engaging in annoying or embarrassing conduct against a worker in a workplace – conduct that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome

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5
Q
  • Emotional abuse
A

another name for bullying

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6
Q
  • Bullying
A

aggressive, nonphysical behaviours perpetrated by organizational members over a prolonged period of time

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7
Q
  • Mobbing
A

a term mainly used in Europe to refer to bullying

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8
Q
  • Sexual harassment
A

intentional, persistent, and unwelcome sexual conduct or remarks that occur despite resistance from the victim

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9
Q
  • Gender harassment
A

comments or actions seen as creating a hostile environment based on gender

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10
Q
  • Unwanted sexual attention
A

persistent and unwelcome sexual comments or attention

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11
Q
  • Sexual coercion
A

the attempt to extort sexual cooperation; can take the form of subtle or explicit job-related threats
- Tendency to treat workplace aggression and workplace violence as interchangeable

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12
Q

 All violence is aggression

A

but not all aggression is violence

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13
Q

o Type 1

A

(member of public) – associated with criminal activity

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14
Q

o Type II

A

(client of workplace)

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15
Q

o Type III

A

(an employee or former employee)

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16
Q

o Type IV

A

(spouse or partner of an employee)

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17
Q

Outcomes of Aggression and Violence

A
  • Generally linked to negative outcomes
    o Physical, psychological, and behavioural
  • Vicarious or direct experiences associated with negative outcomes
  • Generally conceptualized using the process model of stress
  • Immediate outcomes
    o Injury
    o Fear
    o Negative mood
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18
Q
  • Long term outcomes
A 
o	Decrease emotional well-being
o	Decrease physical health 
o	Decrease affective commitment
o	Increase turnover intentions
o	Decrease performance
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19
Q
  • Moderators - 3
A

o Organizational support
o Previous exposure
o Training

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20
Q
  • Risk Factors: Job Characteristics
A 
o	Interacting with the public
o	Denying the public a service or request
o	Making decisions that affect lives
o	Supervising others
o	Going to clients’ homes
o	Handling cash
o	Working alone
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21
Q
  • Risk Factors: SAV-T(1)
A 
o	Scheduling (e.g., alone or at night)
o	Authority (over others – e.g., student stated that they knew where their daughter went to school)
o	Valuables (do you work around/near/with valuables)
o	Taking care of others (physical or emotional care)
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22
Q
  • Imminent risk
A

the short-term risk of violence occurring in the current situation

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23
Q
  • Assault cycle
A

a model suggesting that violence occurs only after a period of escalation

24
Q

Prevention

- Type 1 violence (member or public)

A 
-	Increasing visibility 
o	Increased perceived risks for potential criminals
o	For example, taxi drivers
	External emergency lights
	Global positioning systems (GPS)
	In-car surveillance cameras
25
Q
  • Type 1 violence: reducing rewards
A

o For example, taxi drivers
 Minimal amount of money in the cab
o Target hardening
 Focus on physical designs that make it difficult to assault employees
 For example, taxi drivers
• Protective screens between driver and client
• Employee training, typically focusing on general safety precautions and on behaviour during a robbery or threatened assault

26
Q
  • Type II Violence (client of workplace)
A

o Health care workers, teachers, social service workers, prison guards, and police officers are among most common victims of nonfatal workplace violence

27
Q

o Environmental strategies

A

 Metal detectors
 Surveillance cameras
 Bullet-resistant glass surrounding reception and nursing stations
 Effective lighting both inside and outside hospitals
 Curved mirrors at hallway intersections
 Presence of security personnel
 Card-controlled entrances and security checks to limit public access

28
Q

o Organizational/administrative strategies

A

 Establish policies and practices to prevent aggression
 Written policy should outline what constitutes unacceptable behaviour
 Policies that encourage the reporting of violence are also necessary
 Management should stress importance of reporting acts of aggression
 Management should take all reports of aggression seriously and ensure that employees are aware of the organization’s commitment to safety

29
Q

o Behavioural/Interpersonal Strategies

A

 Training may give employees confidence to deal with potentially dangerous situation
 Hospital workers who received training targeting workplace violence reported higher levels of perceived control compared with workers who did not receive training
 Perceptions of control positively correlated with employee emotional well-being and negatively associated with employee fear of future violence

30
Q
  • Type III Violence (an employee or former employee)
A

o Comprehensive workplace violence program needs to address the potential for co-worker aggression and violence
o Generally, coworkers do not act aggressively: they react to certain situations in an aggressive way. Imagine if…

31
Q

o Triggers for workplace aggression include:

A

 Unfair treatment
 Abusive supervision
 Role stress
 Job insecurity

32
Q

Type III Violence

- Prevention focuses on:

A

o Eliminating or managing triggering events
o Improving interpersonal relationships in workplace
o Creating open and transparent environment
o Developing specific procedures for employees to resolve conflicts and discuss grievances

33
Q

Type IV Violence (spouse or partner of an employee)

A
  • Intimate partner violence almost always is perpetrated by someone who is not a member of the organization
  • Managers and organizational decision makers must be educated about forms intimate partner violence can take
  • Be aware of the resources that are available (e.g., Employee Assistance Program) to employees
  • Allow for temporary accommodation during times of crisis
34
Q

Broader Perspective on Workplace Well-Being, and possibly Violence, Aggression, and Harassment

A
  • Researchers are finding there are certain traits that make people better suited for long-distance space exploration – intelligence, resiliency, an attitude of collectivism, and positive humour – and some that simply don’t work – like narcissism or highly individualistic attitudes
35
Q
  • Risk assessment
A

employers must conduct a violence risk assessment for each of their workplace

36
Q
  • Prevention plan
A

an employer must establish and implement a workplace violence prevention plan for each

37
Q
  • Training and reporting requirements
A

must provide adequate training

38
Q
  • Harassment
A

negative workplace interactions that affect the terms, conditions, or employment decisions related to an individual’s job, or create a hostile, intimidating, or offensive environment

39
Q
  • Bullying
A

repeated and enduring aggressive behaviours that are intended to be hostile and/or perceived as hostile

40
Q
  • Abusive supervision
A

subordinates perceptions of the extent to which supervisors engage in the sustained display of hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviours, excluding physical contact

41
Q
  • Toxic behaviour
A

behaviours that are basically ‘modifiable risk factors’ in the workplace

42
Q

Predicating Workplace Aggression

A
  • Trait anger and interpersonal conflict were the strongest predicators of interpersonal aggression
  • In contrast, the strongest predicators of organizational aggression were interpersonal conflict, situational constraints, and job dissatisfaction
  • Perceptions of poor leadership and interpersonal injustice were the strongest predictors of supervisor-targeted aggression
43
Q

Workplace Bullying and Mental Health

A
  • Workplace bullying may be task-related (unreasonable deadlines, meaningless tasks, or excessive monitoring of work)
  • Or person-related (gossiping, verbal hostility, persistent criticism, or social exclusion)
  • Consistent with stress theories, workplace bulling is recognized as a main source of distress that is associated with decreased well-being, lowered job satisfaction and performance, reduced commitment, and higher levels of sickness and absenteeism
  • When asked, 33% of the patients with mood disorders attributed their mental health problems to their work situation, making problems at work the most common self-reported cause of depression
44
Q

PTSD as a consequence of bulling at work and at school

A
  • A consistent body of evidence shows that persons who bully others at school also are likely to bully as adults, a finding which indicates that there are intergenerational continuities in bullying tendencies and victimization from bullying in school increases the risk of being bullied in adult life
  • PTSD symptoms are overrepresented among bullied persons
45
Q

Meta-Analysis of Sex and Race Differences in Perceived Workplace Mistreatment

A
  • Analyzed the magnitude of sex and race differences in perceptions of workplace mistreatment
  • Employees who are mistreated may be more likely to leave the organization than stay as evidenced by meta-analytic examinations of the positive relationship between mistreatment and turnover intentions
  • Women perceived more sex-based mistreatment
  • Women and men report comparable perceptions of all other forms of mistreatment
  • Racial minorities perceive more race-based mistreatment
  • Contrary to expectations, sex differences in abusive supervision and interpersonal conflict indicated that men are more likely to report these forms of mistreatment than women. White employees were also more likely to report interpersonal conflict than racial minorities
46
Q

Take A ways: Literature Review on Toxic Behaviour

A
  • There are different definitions and understandings of various forms of ‘mistreatment.’ Some authors clearly distinguish between for example, bullying and harassment, whereas others believe one term encompasses similar behaviours
  • Different measurement instruments are used to measure different forms of ‘mistreatment’ (The Negative Acts Questionnaire)
  • Heterogeneous measurement instruments, populations, and sampling techniques have been found to affect results
  • General consensus is that workplace ‘mistreatment’ has detrimental effects on a variety of health factors and negatively affects both work performance and organizational outcomes
47
Q

Costs of Toxic Behaviour at work…

A
  • 94% of employees say they have worked with someone “toxic” in their career. The impact can be devastating
  • Verbal abuse increases job dissatisfaction, builds a hostile work setting, and lowers morale. Negative interactions affect employees’ moods five times more than positive ones
  • The amount of impact of toxic people is a cost that ripples through the organization… if one could ever show the wide-reaching effects of just ONE toxic person, it would help people address this sooner
48
Q
  • Type 1: Shaming behaviour
A

humiliation, sarcasm, pot-shots, and highlighting mistakes
o When displeased with your behaviour of performance, person acts like a parent and shames and blames, along with severe emotional swings and temper tantrums
o Demeaning and derogatory to others; person will purposely embarrass people by asking questions to which they know the person doesn’t have the answer

49
Q
  • Type 2: Hostility (can be passive)
A

o Distrusts others’ opinions, verbal attacks if given negative feedback, clueless of their own toxicity
o Micromanaging and protecting one’s territory; guarding one’s ego and absolute belief in being right above and beyond all others. Passive/aggressive, condescending, martyrdom behaviours
o The distrust of this individual towards other’s work and opinions undermined productivity

50
Q
  • Type 3: Team Sabotage
A

teams are supported in their work to showcase the toxic person, who’s ego is insatiable

51
Q

One Practical Proactive Strategy

A
  • Involve as many stakeholders as possible in hiring and ask relevant questions in interviews
52
Q

What can be done? 5 Specific Steps:

A
  1. Carefully select and support teams – evidence-based personality measures and careful interviewing
  2. Proactive job design – monitor workloads and employee input, clearly outline responsibilities; term limits for those in power
  3. Proactively monitor for bullying behavior – exist interviews; negative acts questionnaire
  4. Manage performance – accountable to ‘rules of engagement,’ consistent and fair evaluations, carefully choose managers
  5. Adopt a systems-based approach – removing a bully from an environment doesn’t necessarily ‘remedy’ the toxic problem, feedback is critical
53
Q

Cyber-Bullying (Cyber-Aggression)

A
  • Emails, Twitter, Facebook, texts

- Increasing accusations of ‘mobbing’ happening online

54
Q

Mobbing

A
  • an initial unresolved conflict that is preventing the target person from accomplishing his or her job in the most effective way – various sorts: humiliation, ridicule, stigmatization, ostracism, exclusion and isolation
55
Q

Employer’s Responsibility

- In Ontario (Bill 168)

A

employers are required to have a policy about harassment in the workplace but are not required to conduct risk assessments for harassment (unlike workplace violence). Furthermore, harassment does not constitute grounds for a work refusal under the legislation

56
Q

Two Employer Responsibilities

A
  1. Obligation to investigate and respond to specific complaints
  2. Organizations have made attempts to promote more respectful workplaces
57
Q

Two Methods used to Investigate Bullying

A
  • Self-labelling method and the behavioural experience method
  • Self-labelled victimization from bullying, measures a perceptual construct. Thus, reported prevalence rates will be influenced by individual characteristics of the respondent and, possibly, also by the psychological climate in the organization

Occupational Health Psychology (5 decks)

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