subject: Workplace Violence Training - 3 Reasons To Provide Your Employees With Basic Self Defense Training! [print this page] Are you concerned about the ever-increasing threat of workplace violence? Contrary to media reports that only focus on the most catastrophic events, workplace violence in the form of assaults, rape, robbery, and other non-lethal attacks, have become the greatest threat to personal safety that we face in Today's world!
Here are 3 reasons that you should add basic self defense training to your workplace violence training program.
1. Employee Wellness. Training your employees in basic self defense tactics has been proven to reduce stress and alleviate anxiety. Often, the threat of the potential for violence in the workplace can breed an underlying atmosphere of fear. This, in turn, translates into excessive lost-time problems, high employee turn-over, and excessive tension that can lead to actual, physical medical problems.
Employees who have a sense of "knowing what to do," are more relaxed, empowered, and able to make better decisions.
2. Internal Deterrence. Just as there are relatively few incidents of employee on employee violence within the law enforcement and security realms, providing defensive tactics training actually serves to deter those employees who may have been considering a violent act. Why?
Because it levels the playing field and doesn't allow an attacker to gain an advantage!
Perpetrators of violence in the workplace very often choose the location and victims that they do because of the ease with which to carry out their actions. This is evidenced by the fact that they surrender or commit suicide when the police - the people with the guns and ability to neutralize the situation - show up!
Having the ability to defend yourself actually reduces your chances of being attacked. Frustrated attackers rarely, if ever, choose targets capable of stopping them before they can do what they set out to do.
3. OSHA Compliance. Most "standard" workplace violence policies are limited to the first half of OSHA's suggestions for a complete plan. These "shell" policies cover the front-end - prevention policies like statements of "zero-tolerance," banned weapon lists, and employee compliance contracts; and the back-end - reporting and punishment procedures. But, almost all of them are missing the most crucial aspects of a workplace violence attack...
...procedures for dealing with "violence."
In addition to the policies and suggestions that allow us to "feel" safe, OSHA also lists the following as elements of a "complete," comprehensive, and solid workplace violence plan:
1. Attack Avoidance training
2. Assault Response training
3. Personal Safety training, and...
4. Self Defense training
The point here is simple: there are more reasons to add self defense training to your employee benefit package than not. It should be seen in the same light as any other form of insurance. We pay for it and have it so that, in the event that something happens - we're protected.
The difference between self defense training and conventional insurance is that self defense training will prevent damages and loss from a workplace violence incident - rather than paying off so you can pick up the pieces and pay for the damages after they occur - if there are pieces to pick up!
What if you could get this type of training while also saving your organization from the losses from lost-time, employee turn-over, legal liability, and negative PR that often arise out of incidents involving violence in the workplace. How? By implementing self defense training that both keeps your employees safe AND also maintains a high level of professionalism and liability control!
