WorkSafe BC has reported acts of violence between non-workers and workers have increased 25% since 2018.
“It is an unfortunate reality, but much of this risk is coming from the customers themselves in these workplaces,” Barry Nakahara, Senior Manager of Prevention Field Services at WorkSafeBC, told My PG Now.
He is looking to employers to help with this spike by assessing risks for violence in their workplaces, and having procedures in place in case a customer does act out of line.
“Have the discussions with your workplace, how can we reduce this risk, how can we mitigate it, how can we prevent it?”
Some further suggestions from WorkSafe include, when possible, physical barriers, lighting, and public visibility.
“There is opportunity to get creative in your workplace to identify what will work best,” Nakahara said.
Looking at the statistic as a whole, Nakahara said it is difficult to speculate what might be causing the spike.
“This risk of violence, it is not only the physical risk. In many cases, these can be traumatic experiences that have phycological impacts… these kinds of situation can rattle a person and affect them for a long time,” he added.
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