$900.00 ( Early bird price $ 800.00 if registered by April 04, 2010)

The current economic crisis has generated an atmosphere of uncertainty and stress unprecedented in the country since the Great Depression.  Joblessness is at the highest level in decades.  The loss of jobs and the stress created for those still remaining at work with increased workloads and lower pay created by furloughs are a pressure cooker that can lead to conflicts and outbursts at the workplace.  Employees in daily contact with the public clearly note a rising level of impatience and anger in their clients. It is also a time of significant LOSS for many employees.  Loss of security, jobs, health benefits, pensions and for the huge Boomer population, increasingly a loss of parents and spouses.  How an employer or union representative deals with employees facing a major loss in their lives is little understood nor addressed, but often leads to dysfunction at the workplace.

All these conditions speak to the critical need to raise the awareness and capacity of managers and employees to recognize danger signs and to actively institutionalize practices that will defuse unhealthy tension at the workplace before they have a chance to boil over into violence or bullying.

Lack of preparation for the possibility of violence contributes to a hostile work environment, saps productivity, and causes illness.

This highly interactive classroom experience teaches participants step-by-step how to:

• Scan; assess their workplace for situations that could potentially lead to violence at the workplace.

• Apply problem-solving and consensus-building preventively

• Plan measures that will minimize situations for unhealthy stress to grow at the workplace. 
• Implement policies that guard against violence.
• Promote strategies and tactics to identify and deal safely with employees, clients and co-workers who exhibit extreme or threatening behavior.
• Action Plans for each individual organization on how to Scan, Plan, Implement and Promote strategies for a Safe, Compassionate Workplace.

Expertly led discussion and practical demonstrations examine the causes of violence, and the application of conflict resolution techniques and policies.

Another highlight of the course is case study analysis of nationally publicized incidents, showing how the application of effective prevention and response strategies can improve safety and avoid harm.

Expected Outcomes:

• Each participant should leave with increased understanding of the underlying reasons for violence, bullying and loss at the workplace
• Each participant should be able to return to their workplace with concrete steps on how to apply what he/she has learned in class to building a more violence-free and compassionate workplace
• Each participant will understand what it means to be a “Workplace Stress Advisor”