The challenge to protect workers
For many organizations and their staff, physical violence is a daily risk. Almost 1 in 4 workers around the world have faced physical violence and/or harassment at work1.
Rather than feeling unsafe and isolated, staff need to feel confident that help is never far away. While management need to know that they are meeting their responsibilities and minimizing the risk and costly consequences. Clearly, this risk is acute in secure institutions like prisons, but also extends to industrial, hospitality and retail workplaces. In a recent global study1 of thousands of workers all around the world, as many as 23% reported experiencing one or more forms of violence and harassment in their working lives.
It is vital to minimize the risk and maximize workplace safety for all workers. Attacks can have a devastating effect on the individuals directly affected, causing injury, physical or psychological illness, and even death. While other staff will feel more exposed and threatened as a result, which can lead them to leave the organization.
Beyond the human cost, it is also important to lower the risk and costs to the organization. In the short term, that can mean operational downtime, the need for extra staff covers and more. Longer term, there are the time and cost of investigating incidents, recruiting and training new staff, damage to your organization’s reputation and even fines and the risk of imprisonment through breaching health and safety regulations or through personal litigation.
When staff are attacked or feel threatened, it is vital they are able to raise an alarm that can quickly and automatically notify responders to come to their location. Either stopping an attack or preventing it from happening in the first place and giving at-risk workers a much-needed feeling of safety when they know that help is never far away.
