3 Workplace Violence Prevention Strategies to Avoid Physical Harm (Pt. 1)

California’s new workplace violence prevention law requires employers to “develop strategies to avoid physical harm” to their employees. And, to implement, “an effective injury prevention program.”

Avoid and prevent are clearly the best approach to employee safety.

But, what does that mean in the real world?

In this piece, the first of three on this subject, you’ll learn about the most important skill to implement for avoiding physical harm from workplace violence.

I’ve investigated a lot of workplace violence incidents during the 30+ years I conducted litigation investigations. My approach to preventing workplace violence draws heavily upon what I learned from working on those cases. 

California requires employers to have a workplace violence prevention program in place by July 1, 2024. I’ve got a useful tool , My FREE workplace violence prevention checklist, to help you get started developing your program. It’s a great road map for you to follow as you develop a workplace violence prevention plan. Just click here. 

The #1 Most Important Strategy to Avoid Physical Harm From Workplace Violence

 When it comes to effectively preventing injury from workplace violence, the most important strategy is to spot a potentially dangerous situation in advance so that you can completely avoid physical harm.

Here’s an easy way to think about this concept. Distance = early warning = options = safety.

Meaning, the further away from, and the earlier in the process, you detect a potential physical danger, the more options you can develop to avoid that risk. Which, enhances your ability to keep safe.

If you notice a safety threat before you are upon it,  be it an angry client charging towards you, or a person holding a weapon. the sooner you notice that threat, the better you’ll be able to avoid it.

We do this by developing our situational awareness skills. 

How to Develop Your Situational Awareness Skills

Situational awareness means using your senses to develop an awareness of the environment around you, and the people within it. And then processing that information so that you can quickly act upon it. And to do so automatically.

It’s a skill that can be learned fairly quickly. Though it will take some effort to make it automatic.

The good news is that we already have a head start on being able to do it. We’re genetically programmed through hundreds of thousands of years of survival as a species.

The first step in this process is to describe to yourself what you can see and hear around you. Do this wherever you go. It’s going to take repetition so the more you do it the better.

Begin the process simply. You’ll want to notice if there are any people on foot, in cars, on bicycles, where they’re located relative to you, and what they’re doing.

For example, if you notice a man standing on a sidewalk across the street. Literally, say to yourself, "there’s a man standing on the sidewalk across the street from me." You could add more detail, such as color of clothing, or the man’s size, but in the beginning focus more on catching the big stuff. 

So if you notice someone sitting in a car. Say to yourself, "there’s a man seated behind the driver’s wheel in a blue car two cars to the left of me."

And don’t forget it’s not just what you see, but what you hear as well. 

You want to be able to recognize and respond to a variety of indicators to maximize safety.

Say something like, "I hear the sound of a car starting up and accelerating towards me." 

You should practice this process indoors as well. You’ll want to note the location of windows and doorways. And things like which direction the doors open and close. 

Identify the location of any sources of light. This is especially important at night or in other low lighted areas. 

And note any potential obstacles, such as trees, fences, cars, posts etc. that can either serve as hiding places for someone, or that can affect your movement pattern.

And finally, you’ll also want to note where you can head to if something were to happen such as to a bathroom, closet, or to another part of the building if you’re unable to leave the building. 

Think about what route to take. And what might prevent you from using that path. Don’t just observe the route, but approximate the number of steps it will take you to get there. The amount of steps matters because of your visibility when on the move, and how long it takes you to get from one location to another. 

Don’t just look for one path to safety. Look for more than one route. It’s possible that your primary route won’t work, so having other options to exit the area, creates more opportunities to keep safe from physical harm.

How to Test Your Skills As You Learn Them

As you practice this process day in and day out, test your progress at different points to see how well you are doing.

Here’s an easy way to do that. 

Simply video what you are describing, and then watch the video to see how accurate you are. Initially, you can expect to see people and other potential threats that you should have described in the video that you left out.

Use the video to learn from it. See what types of things you tend to miss most often and ensure that you focus on them when you practice.

Learning to automate the ability takes practice. But it’s well worth it as nothing else can help you to completely avoid harm better.

In my next piece, I’ll cover the second of the three strategies to avoid harm from workplace violence.

Want to get started on developing the required workplace violence prevention program by the July 1, 2024 deadline? I’ve got a useful tool to help you get started developing your program. Download my FREE workplace violence prevention checklist. It’s a great road map for you to follow as you develop a workplace violence prevention plan. Just click here.