I was just in a large retail store happily browsing in my lunch hour when I heard shouting and swearing coming from where the security guard stands. A customer (and a rather thuggish and scary-looking customer at that) was verbally abusing the guard in an extremely aggressive manner while everyone just stood and watched. I alerted another guard at the other side of the store who approached to deal with the situation and he subsequently diffused it. But it got me thinking ... why should employees have to deal with abuse such as what I witnessed today? These kinds of situations lead to stress and time off work, which isn’t good for the worker or the employer.
What do you think? Have you ever had to deal with workplace violence as a health and safety professional? Discuss here.
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