Managing The Monkey
How to defuse the conflicts that can lead to violence in the workplace
by Mark Dawes with Denise Winn
Format: Paperback (148pp)
ISBN: 1-899398-02-3
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Serving the public has never been more dangerous. One in five workers are violently attacked or abused at work every year, according to latest figures, with younger women at highest risk.
Although many employers are now trying ways to deal with these growing difficulties, few have effective strategies and many are going about it the wrong way.
In this practical book, vividly and amusingly written and packed with case examples and guidelines, Mark Dawes shows how to prevent conflict escalating out of control when dealing with angry customers, patients and clients — and, if it’s too late for that, how to handle even the most frightening of confrontations safely.
Drawing on what is known about the way the brain works, he explains why traditional techniques for creating rapport and communicating with aggressors fail. He also shows how the impact of particular working conditions and cultures can affect behaviour, increasing risk to the public as well as workers, and provides some frightening evidence of how and why we may underestimate our own strength.
EVERYONE who reads this book will get something from it!!! This is a must read for every manager and employer!!! I bought this book having already read ‘Understanding Reasonable Force’ & ‘Understanding Unreasonable Force’ both co-written by Mark Dawes, and was very impressed by this book also. This is a great book for understanding what makes employees and employers tick, and what areas do cause conflict. This book puts across in a very clear and detailed way the manner in which companies and corporations can alienate their employees and how this negatively effects their business (chapter 2, customers should come second). As well as detailing this subject it offers strategies to change things for the better, and gives examples as to how putting the employee first will actually encourage employees to want to take care of your business (chapter 3, employees first). Most of us are used to the usual nanny state rubbish about ’empowerment’ which usually means blaming someone else and shirking responsibility. Everything bad that happens at work and in our personal lives is now ‘societies’ fault, but this book shows how poor relations and double standards do develop and who is really responsible, and what we can all do to help put things right.
Mark Dawes presents a useful and realistic picture of work related violence. Although his writing style can at times be a little confusing, the book gives sound information on relevant legislation in relation to violence in the workplace and offers useful background information as well as practical strategies.