Violence and aggression in the workplace: what employers must do in Switzerland

When people talk about workplace violence, they immediately think of hospitals and the police. In reality the risk affects any organisation whose employees meet customers, users or patients: bank counters, large-scale retail, transport, hospitality, public offices, healthcare services. Violence is not only physical: threats and verbal aggression also weigh on the working atmosphere and on people's wellbeing.

What SECO says

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) reminds us that the Labour Act requires employers to take the measures necessary to protect the personal integrity of their employees. Among the consequences of workplace violence, SECO lists physical and psychological harm to people, a drop in productivity and a worse working environment.

SECO's guidance does not list specific measures valid for everyone: each organisation must identify those suited to its own context. For the official, up-to-date framework, consult the pages of SECO and Suva (both pages in Italian).

Where to start, in practice

The guidance below consists of practical suggestions, not a list of legal obligations.

1. Understand who is most exposed. Which roles, at what times and in which places? A cashier, a counter clerk and a customer service operator do not face the same risks.

2. Have a clear procedure. What does an employee do when a customer raises their voice or makes threats? Whom do they ask for help, and how? A written procedure that staff do not know is no use.

3. Train people. Procedures work only if the people who must apply them have practised them. Verbal and non-verbal de-escalation techniques help prevent tension from getting out of hand and give more confidence to those on the front line.

4. Provide a reporting channel. After a critical incident, employees must be able to report what happened and talk it through with a manager.

5. Repeat over time. New hires, new offices and organisational changes call for periodic updates, not training done once and forgotten.

The role of training

Training does not replace organisational measures, but complements them. A good programme works on situations from your own sector, because the same technique does not apply in the same way at a bank counter and at a supermarket checkout.

BLC offers micro-crisis management courses for staff who deal with the public, at your company or at its own premises, with simulations tailored to the sector. Read more in Micro-crisis management: protecting people who work with the public and in Handling aggressive customers: what you learn in a de-escalation course.

Three questions to get started

Who in our organisation is most exposed? Is there a procedure that everyone knows? When did staff last practise? If the answer to any of these is uncertain, that is where to start.

If you want to assess your organisation's situation, contact us.