Physical and mental violence in the workplace
A threatening act in the workplace often starts with a verbal attack by people under emotional stress. Insults are followed by threats, threats are followed by screams and shouts, which are in turn followed by aggressive actions. Often, troublemakers themselves feel powerless and trapped. They compensate for their perceived powerlessness with aggression. They try to get a seemingly hopeless situation under control again by screaming, rioting or using physical force. In moments like these, employees trained by RiskWorkers can play a part in using special techniques to calmly de-escalate the situation before it gets out of control.
Impact on employees
An employee who is often exposed to aggressive hostility, open threats or physical violence is under constant stress. This threatening behaviour at work is psychologically stressful for the employee and contributes to ongoing feelings of uncertainty. The quality of the employee’s work will suffer as a result, and he or she will develop symptoms that could lead to chronic anxiety disorders. Many victims cannot see improvement on the horizon and give up their jobs so that they can escape this unsustainable situation.
RiskWorkers training for dealing with violence

As part of the one-day training session, up to twelve participants are taught how to swiftly assess dangerous situations by experienced psychologists and behavioural trainers. We use practical exercises to demonstrate what participants could do in an emergency to protect themselves, and how to use effective communication to de-escalate threatening situations. Ultimately, they head home with concrete instructions for action, thereby boosting their knowledge and self-confidence to avert dangerous situations in the future.