Welcome to the Chapter 1 Quiz. Since this is a tease quiz to get your interest in the book, we have provided explanations and answers to the questions at the bottom of the quiz. Feel free to contact Felix P. Nater at 704-784-0260.
QUIZ
Test your knowledge of Workplace Violence. Before you begin reading this book, we’d like for you to take a little quiz. Consider what you know or have heard about workplace violence and think about the following nine situations. Are any of these examples of workplace violence?
- Aniyah loves her work. She earned a degree in civil engineering and secured what she considers a dream job as an independent contractor doing surveying work for the state. While working alone on a rural site, she keeps getting harassing phone calls.
- During a pickup game of basketball after work, Susan gets into a fight with a player who had pushed her while blocking her shot. The other player suffers a cut above her left eye and is taken to a nearby clinic for treatment.
- Enrico composes songs. He uses his computer and accompanies himself on a guitar. He thinks that someday he may sell one of his songs or even record it himself. Today, however, a hacker caused his computer to crash for the second time in 13 days.
- Izaak has been working from home for several months but is now headed back to the office. He is using his computer to solve a problem for work when his taxi is attacked by a “Save the Prairie Dog” mob that was blocking traffic in downtown Flagstaff.
- Jerry loves cooking for himself and his partner. He considers himself to be quite good, but today’s dinner turned out badly. Harry threw a plate of food at him in disgust.
- Mary is tired but glad to be finally flying home from a trip. She is looking forward to seeing her husband and two children and sleeping in her own bed for a change. While she is on her cellphone with a coworker on the ground, a female passenger attacks her with a rolled-up copy of “Oprah.” The phone hit the floor and disappeared up the aisle.
- Ryan has been working from home on and off for almost a year. He usually works at home for 3 or 4 days and then goes to his office the other days. Today, however, his wife attacked him, accusing him of being unfaithful to their marriage.
- Susan has a green thumb. Her flowers are beautiful, and her vegetables are the envy of her friends. Recently, while working in her garden, she has been getting repeated calls about renewing her car’s extended warranty. It’s annoying!
- Two migrant workers at a Georgia peach orchard near Atlanta started arguing over a girl they met at Jesus’s Rodrigues’ Stone Bar last night. The argument escalated into a fight that resulted in one of them being hospitalized.
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Answers to the Quiz
A workplace or place of employment is any location where people perform tasks, jobs, and projects for their employer. Employers get to choose where their employees work, so they determine the workplace. While you can also work at home, and your boss won’t show up at your door and make sure your kid’s toys are not posing trip hazards, nevertheless your employer needs to put special emphasis on safety. So, for one of these examples to be workplace violence, there must have been an employer involved. Therefore, 1, 4, 6, 7, and 9 are workplace violence while 2, 3, 5, and 8 are not as no employer is involved in them. (Adapted from Susan M. Heathfield, “What You Need to Know About Workplaces for Employees.” July 9, 2019, https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-a-workplace-1918295).
Examples 3 and 8, however, would be workplace violence if Enrico were selling his songs and records or if Susan had a home business selling her fruits and vegetables. In those cases, they would have been self-employed. They would be their own employers and so the harassment would constitute workplace violence (adapted from Robin Madell, “Freelancers and Self-Employed Are Not Immune from Harassment.” https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/freelancers-self-employed-not-immune-harassment/).
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About the Author:
Felix P. Nater, CSC, Workplace Security Management Consulting firm specializes in workplace violence prevention for small and midsize manufacturing, processing, production, and utility companies. Led by Felix P. Nater, a certified security consultant, nationally recognized speaker and trainer and former U.S. Postal Inspector, helps company leadership develop and manage a proactive workplace violence prevention and human resources security strategy. info@naterassociates.com www.naterassociates.com
