"...there was a 70% reduction in malpractice claims in 22 hospitals that implemented stress prevention activities. In contrast, there was no reduction in claims in a matched group of 22 hospitals that did not implement stress prevention activities."

Per OSHA, "Workplace violence has emerged as an important safety and heath issue in today's workplace. Its most extreme form, homicide, is the third leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States." The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports that in 1999, the rate of violent acts in hospitals was 4 times that of the private sector industries.

In a publication, 'Stress at Work' by NIOSH, "…there was a 70% reduction in malpractice claims in 22 hospitals that implemented stress prevention activities. In contrast, there was no reduction in claims in a matched group of 22 hospitals that did not implement stress prevention activities."

"According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers who must take time off work because of stress, anxiety, or a related disorder will be off the job for about 20 days."

"The estimated cost American companies pay for workplace violence is $5 billion annually which is manifested as low productivity, higher stress, increased health care costs, absenteeism and turnover, and those workplace incidents which result in litigation." (U.S. Department of Labor)

With the extreme changes that are currently happening in our workplace and in our society, it is more important than ever that we provide everyone with the complete sets of tools needed to do their jobs…conflict resolution skills as well as the job task skills.

There are three core modules that are part of all Building Points of View’s programs:

Building Alternatives to Violence
The Basic Workshop which has experiential topics such as:

• Affirmation-to help each participant re-establish their personal value
• Brainstorming on 'what is conflict?', 'what is violence?', 'how does conflict lead to violence?' to establish the framework for the sessions
• Construction and Team Building
• Language-how to defuse conflict and violence; how to speak without creating more conflict or violence; how to express anger without making someone else be defensive
• Role plays of pertinent situations to provide all the practice of actually applying what is being learned
• Follow up sessions (generally every 6 weeks) for additional topics based on the group's needs, especially problem solving and beginning mediation skills training

Building Facilitators
Workshop designed for the company's facilitators. The objective of this module is to provide the company with its own group of facilitators that have been trained to facilitate both the basic and advanced workshops. Additionally, these facilitators are prepared for the Community Outreach workshops that the company may choose to offer.

Building Community
This module is structured for a community group outside the company where the participants would not generally be company employees. It would be sponsored by the company and done with the community group chosen by the company. The content of the 'Building Alternatives to Violence' workshop is modified to appeal to a more general audience.