Most employees take for granted that they work in a safe environment, yet for millions of workers, that's not always the case.
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For Yasmine Mustafa, her own experiences of feeling unsafe on the job solidified her desire to find a solution. After working in the hospitality industry for many years as an undocumented worker, she saw how frequent instances of harassment and dangerous violence were part of the work experience.
"I've been there, I know what it's like. And as much as I want to be an idealist and say, this shouldn't have to happen, I know that it does," says Mustafa, who now serves as co-founder and CEO of Roar for Good, which provides wearable "panic buttons." "Anytime there is a majority female workforce — healthcare, hospitality, education — with a majority of male decision makers, female workers will be underserved, underprotected and underpaid."
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Roar for Good's panic buttons empower employees to alert security of a safety issue and immediately send help when an employee is in distress. Just a single push of the button can summon immediate help, whether they have been hurt, attacked, or just want support de-escalating a situation.
"A lot of people, especially within hospitality and in healthcare, assume that being unsafe is part of the job," Mustafa says. "It shouldn't be."
While the causes of workplace violence vary, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has listed four common types: type one involves "criminal intent," where an employee gets attacked by someone who is not connected to their job, like a mugging in an office parking lot. Type two involves a customer, patient or client who becomes violent while receiving services from the business. Type three includes "worker-on-worker" attacks or threats, and type four involves interpersonal relationships, like domestic violence that plays out at work.
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William Marcisz, president and chief safety consultant at Strategic Security Management Consulting, says the most common forms of workplace violence in the healthcare sector fall under the second type, when a person outside an organization threatens or attacks an employee.
"If you took into consideration the total workplace violence occurring across all industries, 75% of all verbal and non-fatal attacks are on healthcare workers," he says. "Hospitals are very stressful environments, and there are a lot of stressors and different dynamics. There's a tremendous amount of risk involved in treating patients."
As a consultant, Marcisz is brought into a hospital or healthcare setting and reviews their protocols, in order to potentially prevent instances of violence from occurring. Marcisz often starts by
"If you have a culture of safety, then everybody is a security officer, so to speak," he says. "They're responsible for maintaining security on the floor. I don't expect you to tackle someone, but you have a responsibility to make the call if something isn't right."
To cultivate this culture, the right training is essential. Deescalation training in particular can give employees tools for managing a situation that can spiral out of control — but any effort needs to be prioritized and practiced by leaders first, Mustafa says.
"What I've seen to be really impactful are organizations that are investing in training for employees, especially deescalation training, which can give people the skills to deal with an incident that may seem out of their control," Mustafa says. "Safety culture really starts from the top, when leadership is invested. It has a profound impact on making sure that it trickles down."
While training is important, having a physical device like Roar can give employers a tactile way to show employees they're invested in
"We keep getting requests from really all over the gamut — I've talked to a visitor center, a dental office, a manufacturer, a library system," she says. "People that work in those spaces are seeing an increase of harassment and assaults, and employees are not feeling safe, and thus leaving, and they're not able to recruit new members to be able to fill those positions."
Without the right policies or safeguards in place, employers will quickly lose both talent and money — for example, when a hotel housekeeper is assaulted at work, 68% will leave the organization within three months, costing an employer $20,000 in turnover costs, Mustafa says.
"It's interesting having to make a business case for it, but taking care of your employees allows them to be more productive, allows them to be happier on the job, it reduces burnout and increases retention," she says. "We've been focusing right now on educating these industries on the overall cost savings of what it means to do the right thing, and how that actually helps improve their bottom line."
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As Marcisz works with clients, the goal is not exclusively to end workplace violence; rather, both employers and employees should have a greater awareness of what is happening at their workplace, and an understanding of how to deal with issues as they come up.
"The end goal is to make a safer work environment for staff, and a safer healing environment for patients," he says. "But everything is contingent on an administration's willingness to support workplace violence initiatives."
Mustafa agrees that simply addressing issues on a case-by-case basis will not solve violence at work. As these instances continue to spread throughout industries, organizations will need to grapple with some bigger questions, without losing sight of the importance of taking care of their employees today.
"If we can get top leaders together to talk about the systemic challenges, rather than band-aid solutions, that could go a tremendous way in having an impact," she says. "Especially with the world as chaotic as it is today, this is an investment, not an expense."
