Economy and Violence Revisited

Back in March and April, I posted a series of blogs about how violence increases during times of economic uncertainty. 

Soft data, including public polling, and Challenger and Gray surveys found pessimism around the economy and jobs. This was during the time when the elimination of federal jobs, and the implementation of tariffs were effecting the public.

But, the hard data, from government agencies and the fed were not matching the public's mood.

Well, that's changed.

The hard data has caught up with the soft data. In fact, only 22,000 jobs were created in August, and the unemployment rate rose to its highest level in 4 years. And, for the first time in a long time, the economy shed more jobs than it created.

The economic slowdown has raised employee stress levels. But there's an added edge to all of this, the concurrent rise of grievance driven violence. Where attackers are planning and carrying out violent attacks. This is violence that's cold and calculated. Not something in the heat of the moment.

Business owners need to be aware of this dual violence threat. In terms of co-worker violence, the easiest best way to prevent that is by creating a complaint and investigation process that instills confidence in your employees by impartially investigating the facts, and then once the results of the investigation are obtained, to take the appropriate workplace actions.

Business owners also need to start implementing safety practices for their employees and for themselves. These safety practices should be focused on strategies to avoid physical harm from violence.

To learn more about how I can help you to quickly and effectively implement a workplace violence prevention program, including training employees in conducting investigations, and in strategies to avoid physical harm from workplace violence. And how I help business owners address their own safety needs in just one day.