Dealing with Assaults in the Workplace
In recent Months things have been very good for us at Quell as we have receiving more and more requests for our style of training, but with it comes more and more inquisitive questions about various subjects relating to workplace violence, therefore this proves to us that our subject is becoming more recognised.
The above title of this blog was asked during our training with a retail organisation on how to prevent aggressive behaviour from customers. What the group did first was isolate the incidents that they had and then took a step back to see what where the root cause of the aggressive action. It was quickly deduced that some actions by people who are clearly frustrated can be projected as aggression and therefore it can be presumed when someone has grabbed them as an assault.
We could all go down the path of “Intent” on the different subjects of what type of an assault could it be, however we found in this case it was down to people’s frustration with wanting attention and therefore not intending to cause harm.
In the majority of sectors the subject of frustration is clearly escalating, but understanding the different levels of what a person goes through to carry out an act of aggression in many cases can be unclear at times.
We teach the four stages that a person will go through before committing to physical contact, and teaching staff this skill is another tool that helps prevent, deter and defuse the possibility of harm to staff.
If you face these concerns, then don’t hesitate contact us at Quell and see how we can help you.