Workplace violence prevention in the COVID-19 era

As WVPI founder Kathleen M. Bonczyk discussed during a National Public Radio interview following last year's catastrophic event at the Virginia Beach Municipal Building, under so-called "normal" circumstances, (i.e. pre-COVID-19), at least 2,000.000 Americans experienced workplace violence each year.

(Go here to listen to Ms. Bonczyk's NPR interview):

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/04/729510916/at-least-2-million-or-more-americans-experience-workplace-violence

The impact of the stressors on Americans of COVID-19 will not be fully understood for years to come.

Employers must implement strategies now to prevent workplace violence.

Our economy experienced a sudden and complete shift resulting from COVID-19 this month. Many Americans who were gainfully employed one day found themselves unemployed the next. In the state of California alone, one million workers filed for unemployment. New Jersey's on-line unemployment system crashed after receiving a record number of new applications last week.

Meantime, other workers who were used to working regular hours are now working from home, possibly for the first time in their lives.

For those employees in essential positions, such as our nation's health care professionals and first responders, they must continue working all the while potentially exposing themselves (and their family members as the virus is highly contagious) to the virus.

For more information on what organizations can do now to prevent workplace violence in the COVID-19 era, contact the WVPI at info@workplaceviolencepreventioninstitute.org