TOPICS THAT CAN BE COVERED IN TRAINING ABOUT VIOLENCE

• employer and employee responsibilities • risk management

• types of occupational violence • legal issues associated with violence

• controlling risks associated with specific tasks or worksites • policies and procedures for on-site and off site work • dispute resolution skills

• managing stressors

• recognising signs of impending violence • defusion/de-escalation techniques • anger/self-management techniques

• emergency response procedures on/off site including violence, fire, bomb scare, armed hold-up

• self-defence

• debriefing procedures

• incident reporting mechanisms

• client service and complaints management • supervision, mentoring and peer support.

Checklists and tools at the end of this section

• Workplace violence

• External environment safety and security • Internal environment safety and security • Off-site safety and security

• Sample procedures: Violence response techniques

55

Acknowledgements and further reading

Health and community health services

Management of Adults with Severe Behavioural Disturbances: Guidelines for Clinicians in NSW 2001 NSW Health Department.

Prevention and Management of Workplace Aggression: Guidelines and Case Studies from the NSW Health Industry. Joint WorkCover NSW, Central Sydney Area Health Service publication, 2001 PDF download from

www.workcover.nsw.gov.auPublications search keywords ‘workplace violence

prevention’.

Supported accommodation

Preventing violence in the accommodation services of the social and community services industry, 1996 – joint WorkCover NSW and Department of Community Services. WorkCover NSW Publication 118 available from WorkCover Publications on 1300 799 003 or www.workcover.nsw.gov.au. Safety and Security training program for workers, committee members and coordinators. Available from the SAAP training unit at the Department of Community Services. 02 9692 7133 www.community.nsw.gov.au/saap.

Disability services

Managing risks and incidents in the workplace. Department of Ageing Disability and Home Care, Disability Services, 2003. PDF download from www.dadhc.nsw.gov.au publications.

Child services

Critical Incidents and Violence in Child Welfare Practice, Monograph 31, November 1996, Barnardos Australia, available for purchase 02 9281 7933 Management for Effective Child Welfare – The Organisation of Work in Barnardos Australia, Monograph 24, Barnardos Australia, available for purchase on 02 9281 7933.

Family support services

Worker Safety Policy, 1997 – Family Support Services Association of NSW. 02 8512 9850.

Youth services

A Secure Workplace for Young Australians 1999 – a joint WorkCover NSW and the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre. Available in PDF download from www.workcover.nsw.gov.au - publications. Search key words ‘workplace violence prevention’.

General

Violence in the Workplace, WorkCover NSW, 2002 Publication no 701 available from WorkCover Publications on 1300 799 003 or

www.workcover.nsw.gov.au.

Cash in Transit, WorkCover NSW Publication no 1203 available from WorkCover Publications on 1300 799 003 or www.workcover.nsw.gov.au.

3.3 Managing psychological injury

What the law says

‘Psychological injury’ is defined as being a personal injury arising out of or in the course of employment that is a psychological or psychiatric disorder. This term can extend to include the physiological effect of such a disorder on the nervous system (Workers Compensation Act, 1987).

Factors that may contribute to psychological injury in community service organisations include where the employee:

• had a workload greater, or less, than is usual or when compared to others in similar positions

• experienced job change (eg in task content, hours, location, supervision) • was not consulted about changes affecting their job

• did not have the skills and training for their job, or was uncertain about what they had to do, and this was not addressed by the employer

• had a poor relationship with their supervisor, peers or with others at work which was not identified and rectified

• was not able to discuss issues or problems they experienced with their clients, supervisors and workloads

• was not offered a confidential advice service, including counselling or treatment services

• worked in an emotionally or physically demanding job with inadequate support and monitoring for health effects

• did not have scope for varying their working conditions and to influence the way their job was done

• was not treated consistently or in line with workplace policies and practices

• made complaints but these were not treated seriously – inadequate communication

• had repeated absences but neither they nor the reason for absence were investigated. This may indicate employers disinterest and lack of concern for the employees’ welfare.

The following stressors relate to an employees conditions of employment and therefore should be managed through human resource policies and

procedures:

• staff selection, job description, induction training

• monitoring workloads, performance, working hours, absence levels and reasons for absence and taking any necessary action following such monitoring

57 • conducting regular appraisals and encouraging employees to discuss any

work related issues or problems

• identifying work issues that could cause psychological injury and deciding who may be vulnerable

• ensuring the consistent application of policies and procedures. These should not be treated as OHS risk factors.

How to comply

Step 1 – Think – identify and assess the problem

Activities used to identify foreseeable hazards associated with psychological injury include:

• review incident report forms, workers compensation data, psychological injury claims and statistics from the community services sector or other similar community service organisations

• review research evidence or advice from specialists • consult with the employees clients and volunteers

• review Employee Assistance Program data (if you have this in place) • use External and Internal safety and security checklists to assess whether

environmental factors may be associated with psychological injury.

Step 2 – Talk – consult with employees and volunteers

Consult your employees and volunteers to get their input.

Ask what they feel the source of any stressors may be - what they do to manage this and what they feel ought to be in place to help them and others manage situations that have the potential to cause psychological injury. Enquire if they have been exhibiting any physical signs including rashes, digestive problems, headaches, drowsiness, or incidents of drowsiness while driving.

Discuss the level of support they feel is available to them to manage stressors.

• do they feel the communication channels are open at work • do they have access to counselling

• do they feel valued by supervisors, co-workers and volunteers

• do they feel they have all the training they need to deal with stressful situations at work?