About the process
The inspiration: the COs project
DID YOU KNOW THAT…?
HIS PROCESS WAS THE RESULT OF A SCIENTIFIC STUDY
The study that inspired the process presented on this Web site was conducted in the prison setting. However, it has broader relevance because any organization, regardless of size or structure, inevitably faces situations involving interpersonal violence.
In the Correctional Officers (COs) project, conducted between 2000 and 2010, the implementation of measures aimed at preventing interpersonal violence in Québec detention centres was monitored and evaluated.
The research team’s work, which began in 2000, first consisted of forming an overview of the situation. The data collected in 2000 on exposure to interpersonal violence among correctional officers revealed that the rate of exposure was particularly high. Of the 1,033 officers who completed the questionnaire in 2000, one quarter (24.5%) confirmed that they had been subjected to such violence (bullying, physical violence, or unwanted sexual attention) on the part of superiors, subordinates, or co-workers.
After forming the overview, individual interviews and group discussions were conducted with correctional officers between 2001 and 2003 to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon of violence among staff members.
In light of the findings, the last step in the research project was then taken (2004): a participatory process for the primary prevention of workplace violence was implemented in the correctional facilities.
THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES WERE PURSUED:
- To describe the process of developing and implementing violence prevention interventions;
- To evaluate the impacts of the interventions on organizational practices and the prevalence of interpersonal violence
These interventions were carried out in three Québec correctional facilities (one small, one medium-sized, and one large) referred to as the “pilot” sites. Their situations were compared to those in three other facilities of similar sizes, but where no interventions were carried out; these other facilities were referred to as the “control” sites. The initial hypothesis was that implementing these interventions would change certain organizational constraints (or “risk factors”) and thus eliminate or help reduce the interpersonal violence.
The key to implementing these interventions was a participatory primary prevention process, carried out in 5 STEPS:
1. Securing a commitment from the workplace
2. Identifying the risk factors in the workplace
4. Implementing and monitoring the measures
The parity principle ensures equal numbers of worker and employer representatives on a single committee (joint employer/employee committee). It constituted the fundamental value underlying the approach we used. Without the real participation of all the stakeholders concerned, the implementation, scope, and results of the process would in fact have been highly compromised.
The commitment made by senior executives, management staff, and workers’ representatives constituted an essential facilitator, particularly when the actions to be implemented concerned the organization of work.