Managing customer and public aggression
Workplace aggression is a serious issue in the transport industry. How we understand and manage it has important consequences for workers, customers and the public.
Aggression and its impacts
Work-related violence and aggression includes "any incident in which someone is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work." [1]
Aggression and violence is not easily defined. It’s better understood as a spectrum – ranging from rudeness and eye-rolling, through to hateful comments including racist slurs and derogatory remarks, all the way to life-threatening physical aggression. Aggression can also be disguised as passive aggression.
Aggression can be a response to stress and difficult emotions such as fear, frustration, anger and anxiety.
Some of us are fortunate enough to have the skills to cope with these feelings in a way that doesn’t require aggression. Others may not be able to control their reactions as easily.
People's minds and bodies are affected by any kind of aggression – whether we have a visible injury as a result or not. The impacts are even more profound when this stress builds up over time.
Aggression in the transport industry
Transport workers engage with customers and members of the public every day. At times, they can face aggression from customers who may be making demands and becoming frustrated. Or drivers may face aggressive behaviours from the general public such as 'road rage'.
Some of the aggressive behaviours that transport workers encounter include: [2]
- verbal threats, intimidation or harassment
- spitting
- physical assault
- throwing objects and projectiles
- damaging property
- being disruptive and non-cooperative
- substance abuse; and
- bullying and violence.
Aggressive behaviour can happen at any time of day, and the effects can be worse when drivers and other customer-facing staff are isolated.
What can employers do?
Research commissioned by icare in the retail industry has found four areas of opportunity for employers to take action: [3]
- modifications to physical aspects of the workplace
- increased workplace support
- specialised and focused customer-service training; and
- incident reaction training.
Physical interventions should be tailored to the workplace, and might include things such as Perspex screens for bus drivers.
Equally as important is ensuring employees are supported in a broader sense through providing adequate training and organisational support structures.
Customer service training should focus on understanding aggression, its impacts, how to practise empathy and de-escalation, where to draw the line, safety, and self-care.
It is recommended that employers track three key metrics of change to monitor the effectiveness of any interventions to reduce workplace aggression:
- Frontline service employees' experience of customer abuse
- Employee markers of change; and
- Organisational markers of change.
As part of any intervention, it's vital that people in the workplace support each other. The impacts of stress are worse when people feel isolated. Employers can encourage a healthy and supportive work culture with a top-down as well as bottom-up approach within their organisations.
Proper community messaging should also be used to educate the public on a zero-tolerance approach to aggression. This messaging approach should emphasise something that we all know but sometimes forget: that your driver or the person serving you is a person with feelings, just like you and your loved ones.
References
[1] A-Z of work hazards, violence page - Safe Work NSW
[2] Managing difficult passengers - Bus Safety Victoria
[3] icare (2019), Respect and Resilience in Retail and Fast Food, on our Publications page. This pilot project drew on data from the retail and fast food industries, and many findings are also relevant for other service industries, such as health and community services.
