MANAGING AGGRESSION Managing Aggressionis a workbook designed for everyone who works in social care and anyone who has ever faced, or is likely to face, aggression at work. It provides a range of useful skills to help manage aggression, and shows staff placed in difficult and dangerous situations by their employees how to address the issue effectively by reducing the potential for violence. Individual chapters include: Workplace culture * Causes of aggression * Assessing risk * Organisational responses to violence towards staff *Managing aggression *Bullying at work *Ethnic and gender issues *The consequences of aggression *Alternatives to aggression. In examining the requirements of an employing agency to ensure its ‘duty to care’ for staff, Managing Aggressiongives examples of good and bad practice and is packed with case studies and scenarios, charts and best-practice documents, learning objectives, activities to test knowledge and understanding, summaries of key learning points and key references. Ray Braithwaiteis a consultant and trainer in managing aggression and/or violence at work. He was a lead trainer and speaker in the national ‘No Fear’ campaign, aimed at reducing levels of violence towards social care staff, and has worked on local and central government bodies. He has published numerous articles on managing aggression in a range of professional journals and is the author of Understanding Violence: Intervention and Prevention(1992). the social work skills series published in association with Community Care series editor: Terry Philpot the social work skills series • builds practice skills step by step • places practice in its policy context • relates practice to relevant research • provides a secure base for professional development This new, skills-based series has been developed by Routledge and Community Carework- ing together in partnership to meet the changing needs of today’s students and practitioners in the broad field of social care. Written by experienced practitioners and teachers with a commitment to passing on their knowledge to the next generation, each text in the series features: learning objectives; case examples; activities to test knowledge and understanding; summaries of key learning points; key references; suggestions for further reading. Also available in the series: Commissioning and Purchasing Terry Bamford Chair of the British Association of Social Workers and former Executive Director of Housing and Social Services in Kensington and Chelsea Tackling Social Exclusion John Pierson Institute of Social Work and Applied Social Sciences, Staffordshire University MANAGING AGGRESSION Ray Braithwaite London and New York First published 2001 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2001. © 2001 Ray Braithwaite All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Braithwaite, Ray, 1950– Managing aggression / Ray Braithwaite. p. cm. – (The social work skills series ; 1) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Violence in the workplace. 2. Anger in the workplace. 3. Aggressiveness. I. Title. II. Series HF5549.5.E43 B728 2001 650.1 ′3–dc21 2001019954 ISBN 0–415–24379–3 (hbk) ISBN 0–415–24380–7 (pbk) ISBN 0-203-19391-1 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-19394-6 (Glassbook Format) For Chris CONTENTS List of figures xi Case studies xiii Acknowledgements xv Introduction 1 How to use this workbook 1 1 Workplace culture 3 Objectives 3 The culture of inevitability 5 Strategy: defining ‘violence’ 7 The ‘a part of the job’ culture 9 The no-value culture 13 Implementing change 14 Strategy: the concept of zero tolerance 15 Strategy: sanctions 16 Influencing workplace culture – individual level 17 Influencing public opinion 18 Conclusion 19 Key points 19 References 21 Key reading 21 2 Causes of aggression 22 Objectives 22 Identifying the causes 25 Key points 37 References 37 Key reading 37 3 Assessing risk 38 Objectives 38 What the law requires 39 VIII CONTENTS A definition of violence 40 What elements make up a risk assessment? 42 Risk assessment – the format 53 Applying the model 53 Key points 54 References 55 Key reading 55 4 Organisational responses to violence towards staff 56 Objectives 56 Under-reporting 57 Proactive approaches 59 Key points 71 References 74 Key reading 74 5 Managing aggression 75 Objectives 75 Part A: The effective use of body language 76 Key points 87 References 87 Key reading 87 Part B: Assertiveness 88 Key points 98 References 98 Key reading 98 Part C: Defusion techniques 98 Key points 112 Key reading 112 Part D: Physical interventions 112 Key points 117 References 117 Key reading 117 6 Bullying at work 118 Objectives 118 Overview 119 Identifying bullying 120 Harassment and bullying 121 Who bullies? 124 So what can be done? 128 Key points 132 References 132 Key reading 132 CONTENTS IX 7 Ethnic and gender issues 134 Objectives 134 Ethnic/cultural issues 134 Gender issues 142 Key points 147 References 147 Key reading 147 8 The consequences of aggression 149 Objectives 149 ABC charting and the consequences of violence 150 Consequences to you 151 Consequences to the perpetrator 156 Consequences to the staff team 162 Consequences to other service users 164 Key points 166 References 166 Key reading 166 9 Alternatives to aggression 167 Objectives 167 Individual responses available to service users 168 Group work 174 Key points 176 References 177 Key reading 177 Bibliography 178 Index 182