Assessing Work Place Violence Risk Factors in the Hospitality Industry
Assessing Workplace Violence Risk Factors in the Hospitality Industry
In “What’s Growing in the Corporate Culture”, Mattman (2001) discussed the steps a company needs to take in order to set up an effective workplace violence prevention program. This process involves classifying various risk factors, reviewing the existing policies in place, and establishing a way to collect pertinent, unbiased data. In this paper, I will summarize Mattman’s key points and gear the discussion more directly towards issues especially relevant to the hospitality industry.
Types of Workplace Violence To begin with, Mattman (2001) distinguishes between three types of risk identification for workforce violence incidents. Type I incidents are those in which the perpetrator holds no legitimate relationship to the workplace or the victim in question (e.g., the robbery of a convenience store by someone who does not know the cashier). Type II incidents are perpetrated by individuals receiving a good or service from the workplace or victim (i.e., customers/patrons). Finally, Type III cases are employment-related incidents with the workplace; these can be direct or indirect. Direct cases are those with current or former coworkers or supervisors; indirect cases are those between an employee and a current or former spouse, lover, relative, or friend. Unlike many other industries, the hospitality industry has a very large proportion of its workforce making in-person communication and contact with its patrons. As such, this industry inherits a larger share of Type II cases than other professions. Similarly, the hospitality industry includes many jobs subject to larger risk from Type I incidents such as late-night food establishment and hotel lobby workers. This is of particular concern since roughly half of all workplace homicides are of the Type I variety.
Review of Existing Policies and Company Culture Any establishment of a successful workplace violence prevention program begins with
In “What’s Growing in the Corporate Culture”, Mattman (2001) discussed the steps a company needs to take in order to set up an effective workplace violence prevention program. This process involves classifying various risk factors, reviewing the existing policies in place, and establishing a way to collect pertinent, unbiased data. In this paper, I will summarize Mattman’s key points and gear the discussion more directly towards issues especially relevant to the hospitality industry.
Types of Workplace Violence To begin with, Mattman (2001) distinguishes between three types of risk identification for workforce violence incidents. Type I incidents are those in which the perpetrator holds no legitimate relationship to the workplace or the victim in question (e.g., the robbery of a convenience store by someone who does not know the cashier). Type II incidents are perpetrated by individuals receiving a good or service from the workplace or victim (i.e., customers/patrons). Finally, Type III cases are employment-related incidents with the workplace; these can be direct or indirect. Direct cases are those with current or former coworkers or supervisors; indirect cases are those between an employee and a current or former spouse, lover, relative, or friend. Unlike many other industries, the hospitality industry has a very large proportion of its workforce making in-person communication and contact with its patrons. As such, this industry inherits a larger share of Type II cases than other professions. Similarly, the hospitality industry includes many jobs subject to larger risk from Type I incidents such as late-night food establishment and hotel lobby workers. This is of particular concern since roughly half of all workplace homicides are of the Type I variety.
Review of Existing Policies and Company Culture Any establishment of a successful workplace violence prevention program begins with
References: Hoel, H., & Einarsen, S. (2003). Violence at work in hotels, catering and tourism. International Labour Office, Geneva. Homel, R., et al. (2004, March). Making licensed venues safer for patrons: what environmental factors should be the focus of interventions. Drug and Alcohol Review, 23, 19-29. Managing the risks of violence at work in the hospitality industry. (2002, November). WorkCover Corporation. Mattman, J.W. (2001). What’s Growing in the Corporate Culture? Workplace Violence Research Institute. Retrieved from http://www.workviolence.com/articles/corporate_culture.htm