Safety tips

• Try to remain calm. If you start to panic, you'll lose your ability to assess the situation;
• Identify escape routes in your evacuation plan;
• Have an alternate location established for management to convene to assess the situation and address employees' concerns;
• Learn the quickest and best way to get out if a violent situation happens in the office;
• Once you feel safe, notify security;
• Identify desk items that can be used as weapons (e.g., paper weights, staplers, tape dispensers, scissors);
• Report things you see or hear that make you suspicious and aren't "quite right;"
• Don't leave visitors unattended;
• Make sure visitors don't wander alone around the building;
• Use caution when riding elevators during irregular hours. Make eye contact with other passengers;
• Don't get on the elevator if an individual looks suspicious;
• Treating internal and external customers with courtesy and respect could be the best way to defuse an anxious situation;
• If you see someone in the building who doesn't look familiar, approach the person and ask if you can help.

BWC offers one-day seminars on workplace violence. Find a class near you or call 1-800-OHIOBWC (800-644-6292) and follow the options.