Safety Talk

How This Affects You:

Workplace violence can happen to anyone, even you. While certain occupations put a person at a much higher risk – driving a taxi, or working on the late shift for instance – violence can occur in any setting.

Here are some reminders about interpersonal safety at work:

• Don’t pick fights. Loud and aggressive arguments can easily escalate into physical fights.
• Take verbal threats seriously. Do not aggravate the situation with a threatening response. Report all threats to your supervisor or the company’s security department.
• Report any suspicious person or vehicle to security personnel, especially at night. The suspect could be casing the place for a break-in. Or the person could be stalking an ex-spouse who works with you.
• Also watch for unauthorized visitors who appear to have legitimate business at your plant. Crimes have been committed by people posing as employees, contractors and repair persons.
• Observe your company’s rules prohibiting drugs and alcohol at work. Many violent incidents at work can be traced to the use of these substances.
• Be aware of the neighborhood in which you work and the areas you drive through on your commute. Gang activity and other violence does not always stop at the gate to your plant. Keep to well-traveled and well-lighted areas as you drive to and from work.
• If you drive on the job, don’t pick up hitch-hikers. The most important reason for this rule is your personal safety.
• Learn how to contact help in an emergency. Speed-dialing numbers should be programmed into phones and emergency numbers should be listed at each phone.
• Some workplaces also have predetermined code words so one employee can tell another about a dangerous customer or visitor without tipping off the suspect. Learn the distress signals used in your workplace.
• Wear your identification badge as you are instructed. Never lend your key or entry card to anyone. Notify the security office if you have lost your keys or pass cards. Keep your entry password a secret by memorizing it instead of writing it down.

Co-operate with your employer’s security program because it is there to protect both you and your job. Be alert to threats to your personal safety – from customers, co-workers, intruders and others. If you sense something is wrong, it probably is.