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Digital EditionProtecting Workers Before Tragedy Strikes: A Shift Toward Proactive Workplace Violence Prevention
Workplace violence is, unfortunately, on the rise. According to National Safety Council data, 57,610 injuries from assaults were reported in 2021-22. This further resulted in 525 fatalities for the same timeframe.
“In the U.S., two million workers experience violence incidents,” shared Michelle Beringer, vice president, client services, Sedgwick, during the National Comp 2025 session, “Confronting Workplace Violence: Prevention, Protection, and Response.”
“740 workers lost their lives in 2023. One in ten workplace deaths were due to homicide,” she continued. Industries like health care and retail ranked high in facing violence. Active shooter events, she said, were also huge contributors for the violence reported.
No one wants to fear for their safety or their lives when they go to work. Luckily, workers’ compensation and other safety professionals are working tirelessly to become proactive instead of reactive to these types of events.
Joining Beringer during the Nashville, Tenn., session were Juan R. Gonzalez, Jr., disability manager, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and Mark Debus, clinical manager of behavioral health, Sedgwick. Together, they presented ways for others in the safety space to practice prevention and respond to their workers’ needs during and after high-stress events.
Proactive, Not Reactive
The biggest takeaway the presenters wanted their audience to recognize is that addressing workplace violence can no longer be reactive in practice. Proactively working to prevent and address potential escalating situations is key in terms of protecting employees and promoting safety.
In fact, the drive for proactive prevention is becoming so prevalent that many states are urging companies to have a plan in place.
“I’m from California. We did just pass … Senate Bill 553, [which] went into effect, and that does require all employers to have a workplace violence prevention plan in place that includes employee training as well as incident logs,” shared Beringer. “So many states are following suit … New York, Oregon, Washington, Connecticut, Illinois — there’s growing momentum. So it just goes to show the urgency of this issue.”
Gonzalez manages the second largest school district in the United States. For him, preventing workplace violence isn’t just a wise choice; it’s about protecting the kids — elementary all the way to high school — in his care: “In my mind, they’re my kids. Every single child that goes to the school district at LA Unified, I consider my children, and our children are the future, so we have a responsibility to protect them,” he said.
That’s why prevention and proactive safety are top of mind. One strategy LAUSD has implemented is annual training, not just for employees but also for students.
“We do virtual training. We also do drills … to ensure that every employee knows what to do, when and if the time comes,” he said. Online virtual training enables employees to retake courses several times each year as refreshers are needed.
Another tool in LAUSD’s proactive toolbox is having a strict ID policy, meaning no one is allowed on a school site without proper identification. That includes spaces like buses, maintenance buildings, nutrition centers where school lunch is prepared. Without ID, there is no entry, no matter who.
“I cannot even go on to a school site without showing my ID,” said Gonzalez. “I’ve done that once, and they made me turn around and go get my ID in my car, so I had to walk a block back to get my ID and walk back.”
The practice shows that the school and its various buildings are keeping watch on who is entering their premises. Having that level of oversight can pinpoint, should the need arise, who is not meant to be in an area and who is.
After Violence: Helping Employees Cope
While a proactive prevention strategy is absolutely vital, bad actors can still slip through the cracks. Employee safety and wellbeing does not end when the violence subsides either, which is why the panel put a large emphasis on addressing employees’ mental health and stressors post event.
While measuring psychological trauma is hard, organizations can still address the psychological toll that workplace violence has on employees. Debus noted that trauma responses come in different shapes and sizes, so having someone trained in mental health and awareness come in can be a boon to employees.
“There’s a lot of different signs for trauma. Some are going to be in the immediate sense … within the first 24 hours, certain symptoms that show up in your employees. People are going to oftentimes be in shock, they’re going to shut down. That’s why you can have a clinical resource reach out to affected employees … within the first 24-48 hours, just to help normalize some of those immediate symptoms,” he said.
He added body aches are typical following a crisis, as the body’s muscles tense during the flight, fright or freeze moments of a violent act. All this, he said, is normal, but may not feel normal to a person who’s processing trauma.
“You may have people call off sick the next day or possibly file workers’ comp claims right away, but having a clinical resource that can reach out and help normalize some of those reactions is important,” he said.
More on LA Unified: LAUSD: A Success Story in Public Entity Captive Formation
Added to that, trauma processes differently in everyone, and symptoms may not present until days, weeks, or sometimes months following an event. “The body remembers,” Debus said. “The body remembers trauma,” and one of the biggest indicators is signs of burnout following the event.
“You’re going to see people becoming more and more disengaged with their jobs. And you know, burnout looks like attendance problems or mistakes, maybe not engaged as much in meetings. Those are … the hidden signs of trauma,” he said.
All equally valid, the panelists agreed, and all pieces that can be addressed with the help of a trained clinical presence.
Culture of Safety
Finally, creating a culture of safety is paramount in both prevention and the after care of a workplace violence event. If employees know and understand that their place of employment is actively working for their wellbeing, they will be more likely to confide in and add to the culture of safety being established.
“If you have a culture already that is providing safety, and people expressing negative emotions in the workplace, for example, people will be more likely to share things that are bothering them,” Debus said. Coworkers, he said in his experience, are more willing to share their personal frustrations when they feel safe in the workplace.
This could give insight on things like domestic violence incidents, as an example. One study showed that “74% of domestic violence survivor/victims are also harassed at work,” costing “U.S. business[es] nearly $6 billion annually in aggregate costs, including in excess of $4.1 billion in direct medical and mental health services.”
If an employee feels safe at work, “these are things that people do share in the workplace, with their coworkers or with their supervisors, because there’s trust,” said Debus.
Gonzalez also noted that having a “see something, say something” policy can go a long way in bolstering a businesses safety culture. However, “if they see something, who are they gonna tell?” he added. “That’s the most crucial part, is instructing our employees, teaching them [and] letting them know [who] to tell what’s going on.”
That comes from training. But it also stems from making safety part of everyone’s responsibility. “Because if you don’t say anything and something happens … but if we can respond, that would be the greatest thing in the world to prevent a tragedy from happening in the workplace, not to only for our employees, but for our students,” he said. &
