Carri Casteel, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa
Dr. Casteel explored components of workplace violence prevention programs (WVPPs) and intimate partner violence (IPV) policies and how they compared with industry standards among a sample of mid-sized U.S. businesses. The project builds on a current study with corporate security from Boeing, Target and Microsoft, examining the comprehensiveness of WVPPs in large U.S. corporations. The project is relevant to Total Worker HealthTM because IPV impacts employee performance, psychological well-being and physical safety, as well as coworker safety.
| Results & Dissemination |
Violence Prevention Policies, Programs, and Practices in a National Sample of Mid-Sized Employers
Understanding how workplace violence prevention policies, programs, and practices compare with industry standards was added in a study by Carri Casteel and her colleagues with pilot project funding from the University of Iowa’s Healthier Workforce Center, one of four centers of excellence in Total Worker Health from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. The team was particularly interested in understanding how policies, practices and programs vary by employer size. A survey was completed by members and key stakeholders of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals whose members are large corporations and national sample of small and mid-sized businesses from the Dunn and Bradstreet business listing. Findings suggest that nearly all large businesses (97%) and small and mid-sized businesses (91%) have a workplace violence prevention program. Nearly all had policies for unacceptable behavior, anti-harassment and discrimination and a code of business conduct/ethics. Nearly 95% of large businesses and 83% of small businesses had policies on reporting of circumstances that raise employee safety concerns such as safety, substance use, and weapons on-site. Overall larger employers had more industry standards in place than small and mid-sized companies with the exception of policies allowing employers to inspect employer work spaces and/or devices which is more common in smaller employers. Reports of violence and possession of weapons were more frequent at larger companies and were more likely to include investigations. Findings and reports were shared in 2014 and 2015 at the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals which includes safety directors at Fortune 500 companies.