About the Book
By any measure, workplace violence is increasing in frequency and intensity. A recent report estimates its cost at over $120 billion. Meanwhile, experts agree that risk factors, including psychological, behavioral, and situational stressors, are increasing in the context of today's volatile business environment. This timely book integrates insights from the fields of management and social psychology to identify the sources of workplace violence and offer readers practical strategies for preventing it, protecting themselves and their employees from it, and reacting swiftly and effectively when it happens. Featuring case examples, interviews, practical recommendations, and resources for additional information, the authors debunk common myths and misconceptions about workplace violence, its perpetrators, and its victims, and consider the link between domestic and workplace violence—in particular, its implications for women and minorities. The result is an essential guide for anyone, including managers and employees, human resource professionals and counselors, psychologists and other advocates, affected by the impact of workplace violence and seeking solutions.
The statistics are alarming. Homicide is the most frequent manner in which female employees are fatally injured at work; it is the number two cause for men. According to a recent study cited by the Society for Human Resource Management, incidents of workplace violence have increased steadily over the past sixteen years; 58 percent of participating companies reported that disgruntled employees have threatened senior managers in the past year, 17 percent said employees had intentionally and maliciously downloaded computer viruses, and 10 percent said they were victims of product tampering. Meanwhile, the costs linked to workplace violence have been estimated at over $120 billion. Experts agree that risk factors for workplace violence include psychological, behavioral, and situational stressors—and today's volatile business environment increases their intensity.
This timely book integrates insights from the fields of management and social psychology to identify the sources of workplace violence and offer readers practical strategies for preventing it, protecting themselves and their employees from it, and reacting swiftly and effectively when it happens. Featuring case examples, interviews, practical recommendations, and resources for additional information, the authors debunk common myths and misconceptions about workplace violence, its perpetrators, and its victims, and consider the link between domestic and workplace violence—in particular, its implications for women and minorities. The result is an essential guide for anyone, including managers and employees, human resource professionals and counselors, psychologists and other advocates, who is affected by the impact of workplace violence and is seeking solutions.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Acknowledgments
1 Understanding Workplace Violence: Myths and Realities
2 What Is Workplace Violence?
3 Incidence of Workplace Violence and Impact on Employees and Organizations
4 Factors Contributing to Workplace Violence
5 Workplace Sexual Harassment
6 Intimate Partner Violence as a Workplace Concern
7 Managing Violence, Aggression, and Other Abusive Behaviors in the Workplace
Notes
Index
About the Author :
Michele A. Paludi is president of Human Resources Management Solutions and participating faculty at Union Graduate College, Schenectady, NY. Paludi is series editor for Praeger's Women's Psychology and Women and Careers in Management and has authored or edited 38 texts on workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, psychology of women, workplace violence, and campus violence. Her book Ivory Power: Sexual Harassment on Campus received the 1992 Myers Center Award for Outstanding Titles in Human Rights. She was recently named "Woman of the Year" by the Schenectady Business & Professional Women's club and is currently the Elihu Root Peace Fund Professor in Women's Studies at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY.
Rudy V. Nydegger is Professor of Psychology at Union College and Professor of Administration and Management at the School of Management, Union University. He also teaches in the Cornell University Institute of Industrial and Labor Relations and serves as Chief, Division of Psychology, Ellis Hospital. He has written dozens of professional and academic articles on issues of social psychology, consulted to major corporations and health care institutions, run workshops, and participated in conferences in the U.S. and abroad.
Carmen A. Paludi, Jr. is a Senior Scientific Advisor for Titan Systems Corporation and consults with Human Resource Management Solutions in the areas of computer- and web-based training and investigatory procedures for sexual harassment. He is the author of dozens of technical papers and reports and is co-editor, with Michele Paludi, of Academic and Workplace Sexual Harassment (Praeger, 2003).
Review :
Two management consultants and a Union College psychology and management professor have collaborated to produce this concise book on workplace violence. They ground their presentation in management and social psychology theory, empirical research, case studies, and their own interviews with managers and employees. Their work covers the basics: myths, realities, and definitions of workplace violence; violence frequency; factors contributing to violence; sexual harassment; intimate partner violence; and ideas for managing violence, aggression, and other abusive behaviors in the workplace. They propose several dimensions of workplace violence such as the level of intensity, intentional versus unintentional, physical versus nonphysical, and solitary versus group-oriented. A great feature of the book is the listings of outside resources such as Web sites, organizations, magazines, books, and government offices; these listings would have been better combined in one appendix. The book concludes with a model employee handbook policy on workplace violence covering threat assessment teams, violence reporting, and investigation of complaints….Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through practitioner collections.
Human resources management consultants Paludi and Carmen A. Paludi, and Rudy V. Nydegger translate concepts and theories from academic research into practical strategies that business leaders can use to respond to the threat of workplace violence. They describe such measures as developing and enforcing effective policy statements, investigatory procedures, and training programs.
This is a thoughtful and measured practicum from which to observe and handle workplace events, which, unfortunately, are escalating….With well-considered research (and a battery of books to her credit, such as The Psychology of Sexual Victimization, 1999), she easily dismantles common myths such as the post office is the worst place for violent acts and children are not affected by domestic violence, then continues by building new, more realistic perceptions. Her plea for corporate policies, training, and heightened awareness and actions is communicated through actual case histories, occasional interviews with experts and field HR professionals, plus ready-to-use statements, procedures, and other tools. Sobering and much-needed information.
