The U.S. Office of Personnel Management presents the full text of a handbook entitled "Dealing with Workplace Violence: A Guide for Agency Planners," published in 1998. The handbook discusses how to establish workplace violence initiatives. The handbook covers the basic steps of program development, case studies, threat assessment, considerations of employee relations and the employee assistance program, workplace security, and organizational recovery after an incident.

“Dealing with Workplace Violence: A Guide for Agency Planners” addresses the issue that preventing workplace violence is a growing concern in the United States. Public interest and media attention have focused primarily on dramatic but very rare types of violence such as shootings by disgruntled employees in office buildings. Planners of workplace violence programs face the dual challenge of reducing employees' anxiety about very rare risk factors while focusing their attention on more likely sources of danger. Undue anxiety about the “office gunman” can stand in the way of identifying more significant, but less dramatic, risk factors such as poorly lighted parking lots or gaps in employee training programs. This anxiety can also make it more difficult to cope with one of the most common workplace violence problems — the employee whose language or behavior frightens coworkers. Federal employees in organizations such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have played a leading role in helping employers recognize and respond appropriately to the actual risks of workplace violence faced by their employees. At the same time, the risk of violence against Federal employees themselves has received increased attention, particularly in response to the tragic loss of life in the terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. For many Federal workers, the anti-government sentiment they had handled on the job for years suddenly acquired a new and terrifying context. Even before the Oklahoma City tragedy, Federal managers and specialists, like their private sector counterparts, were becoming aware of the dangers of workplace violence and concerned about developing preventive programs for their employees. This was a challenging endeavor. When they turned to the private sector for expert guidance, they often found advice that was not necessarily compatible with Federal laws and regulations, or that failed to cover issues faced by Federal employees. However, in attempting to develop their own programs, agencies often discovered that they lacked the expertise necessary for a truly comprehensive approach. Depending on its mission, an agency might be rich in law enforcement personnel but without the needed resources in mental health or other disciplines whose input was essential. In the spirit of reinventing government, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management organized the Interagency Working Group on Violence in the Workplace. The purpose was to bring together a multi-disciplinary group of experienced professionals from throughout the Federal Government in order to develop comprehensive approaches to analyzing and responding to threats or incidents of violence in the Federal workplace.~

OWR-09. Intended to assist those who are responsible for establishing workplace violence initiatives at their government agencies. Provides information that can be helpful for managers and specialists as they deal with difficult workplace violence situations.

Workplace violence can occur anywhere: schools, office buildings, hospitals, or late-night convenience stores. It can occur day or night, inside or outside of the workplace, and it can include threats, harassment, bullying, stalking, verbal abuse, and intimidation. Left unchecked, workplace violence can lead to physical assaults and homicide. This updated edition of The Workplace Violence Prevention Handbook tackles this often overlooked but pervasive problem and provides a comprehensive five-step process for understanding and preventing it. The Workplace Violence Prevention Handbook looks at the extent of the problem, examines some of the myths surrounding it, and provides early warning and detection signs, best prevention polices and proven defusing, protection, and containment techniques and strategies. At the end of each section there are a combination of case studies, scenarios, worksheets, and checklists to assist you in understanding the steps needed to plan, develop, and execute an effec­tive workplace violence prevention program. A workplace violence prevention plan is a must. Apart from the legal and liability issues, it just makes sense to protect the organization’s most valuable assets—the workforce. For many organiza­tions there are added benefits from implementing a violence prevention plan. During the risk assessment phase, you frequently discover areas of vulnerability that can be remedied and practices that can be improved. This can lead to increased productivity and efficiency, which could have an ongoing impact on your bottom line. The biggest benefit, however, is in increased safety for everyone using that workplace.

This book, through an examination of a number of representative real world cases, provides a detailed look at what happened to some companies and traditional tools for occupational health and safety, discipline, and employee relations now used by business and labour leaders are inadequate and inappropriate in responding to the problems of workplace violence. In fact, the methods and approaches commonly in use actually worsen the problem in some cases. The book summarizes the most up-to-date learning in this area and offers practical guidance and recommendations for assessing the risk of violence, steps for preventing workplace violence, and a through discussion of employees rights and employer's responsib