Hidden dangers

in small groups in potentially dangerous locations. Many other operatives such as social workers, firefighters and emergency doctors have also reported coming under occasional attack when performing their duties. But this news will be of little comfort to the average cleaner.

The range of behaviour which may be included under the general heading of violence at work is very broad. But the borderline of what constitutes acceptable behaviour is often vague and cultural attitudes to what amounts to violence are so diverse that it is a very complex matter to define violence at work.

Lone workers are often seen as easy targets by aggressors. Cleaners, maintenance or repair staff and others who work alone outside normal hours are at special risk of suffering physical and sexual attacks according to a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Night-time is the highest risk period.

Women at risk

Many studies show that women are at particular risk of violence. Data from Sweden also shows women to be more at risk of workplace injuries caused by violence than their male colleagues. Why are women at high risk of violent behaviour in the workplace? In the first place, women are concentrated in many of the high-risk occupations, such as cleaning. The continued segregation of women in low-paid and low status jobs, while men predominate in better-paid, higher status jobs and supervisory positions, also contributes to the problem says ILO.

In broad terms, the impact and cost of violence at work needs to be considered at a number of different levels:

• At the individual level, where the suffering and humiliation resulting from violence usually lead to lack of motivation, loss of confidence and reduced self-esteem, depression and anger, anxiety and irritability. In the same way as with stress, if the causes of violence are not elimi-

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Cleaners are vulnerable to abuse and occasionally even assault when working in isolated places during unsociable hours. So, what are employers and other bodies doing to help keep them safe?

Hidden dangers (continued from page 47) nated, or its effects contained by adequate intervention, these symptoms are likely to develop into physical illness, psychological disorders, tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse.

• At the workplace, violence causes immediate, and often long-term disruption to interpersonal relationships, the organisation of work and the overall working environment. Employers bear the direct cost of lost work and improved security measures.

• At the community level, the costs of violence include healthcare and long-term rehabilitation costs for the reintegration of victims, unemployment and retraining costs for victims who lose their jobs as a result of such violence.

In the UK, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a guide to the risks of lone working that says employers are responsible for the health, safety and welfare of their workers when going about their duties. Cleaning managers are required to make risk assessments and involve their workers in any measures taken to protect them.

Workers take care

And the HSE adds that workers have a responsibility to take reasonable care in any risky situation and to co-operate with their employers to help them meet their legal obligations.

Atalian Servest’s quality, health, safety and environment manager John Crombie confirms that attacks against cleaners are not uncommon. “Unfortunately we do see incidents of abuse, assault and of intruders across the cleaning industry, particularly in situations where employees come into contact with the public,” he said.

L’univers crépusculaire du nettoyage peut s’avérer un lieu solitaire et isolé. Il peut également devenir dangereux. Les agents de nettoyage sont exposés aux insultes, voire même aux agressions physiques, lorsqu’ils ont à travailler dans des endroits isolés et à des heures peu sociables. Que font les patrons et les organismes du secteur pour assurer leur sécurité?

“Most of these cases are alcohol or drug-related and usually occur in public areas, often during the daytime. When our employees are working at or near major public events they may come across people acting inappropriately. And incidents will often arise from a minor issue, such as for example when a member of the public on a train acts inappropriately because they can’t buy any more alcohol. These types of issues may be completely unrelated to the cleaning employee - but our staff member can quickly become a target simply because they happen to be working in the vicinity.”

Working in Isolation and late at night can add to the risk, he says. “However, we don’t single these practices out because this could lead people to judge other situations to be less risky,” he said. “For example, there are some sites that wouldn’t immediately be expected to pose a risk but which could suddenly become areas of concern when, say, a protest is going on nearby.”

This type of situation could lead to a lock-down scenario in which the company’s employees would need to be removed from the area, he said. “We carry out a unique risk assessment at every site and act accordingly.”

Atalian Servest has its own procedures in place for dealing with any incident of assault or abuse. “These types of situations must be logged in detail with the site supervisor,” said Crombie. “Depending on the severity of the incident it may be escalated to the health and safety team so that it can be dealt with appropriately. And this may then lead to a review of the risk assessment which could result in implementing better security, changing the time of day at which employees work or even removing employees from the site entirely.”

Die dämmrige Welt der Reinigungskräfte kann ein einsamer, abgeschiedener Ort sein. Und er kann auch gefährlich sein. Reinigungskräfte sind anfällig für Beschimpfungen und gelegentlich sogar tätliche Angriffe, wenn sie außerhalb der normalen Arbeitszeiten an abgeschiedenen Orten arbeiten. Was unternehmen Arbeitgeber und andere Industrieverbände, um für die Sicherheit der Arbeitskräfte zu sorgen?

Risk assessment

Each situation is treated individually following a detailed site-specific risk assessment, he said. “We look at who is working where, how and when,” said Crombie. “Will our employees be coming into contact with members of the public? Will they be working alone? What type of environment will they be in? What tasks will be carried out? We put in place whatever control measures we feel to be appropriate in order to minimise the risks - and these measures are frequently reviewed and updated.”

The company has a strict Lone Working Procedure which is designed to ensure that all employees stay safe, particularly when working at night, he says. “This is covered as part of the employee induction for each role,” said Crombie. “Employees will always have clear communication channels available so that any issues may be escalated either with their line manager or with our 24/7 help desk.

“Keeping employees safe is paramount and is ingrained into Atalian Servest’s working culture: we all understand that if a situation is unsafe, it is far more important that employees remove themselves from that situation than to carry on through in an attempt to complete the work.”

While Atalian Servest sees it as its own responsibility to look after its employees, the company also believes that staff should take some responsibility for their own safety. “It is important to explain our safety measures and processes so that employees will understand the benefits they bring,” he said. “We work hard to ensure that all members of staff follow our safety guidelines.

“We also run our own ‘Always Be Careful’ (ABC) safety campaign which is a call for employees to be aware of their surroundings and remove themselves from any situation which seems unsafe. When this occurs, employees should immediately go to a safe place and contact their line manager.”

Il nebuloso mondo delle pulizie può essere un luogo solitario e isolato e può anche essere pericoloso. Gli addetti alle pulizie sono vulnerabili agli abusi e occasionalmente anche alle aggressioni mentre operano in luoghi isolati durante i lunghi orari di servizio. Come stanno facendo i datori di lavoro e le organizzazioni industriali per assicurare la sicurezza al personale?