ROAR's Blog

Worker protection and employee safety are becoming increasingly important topics in the hotel industry. The #MeToo movement, along with a number of high profile cases, highlighted the endemic violence and harassment faced by many in the sector, with some research suggesting up to 9 in 10 hotel workers had experienced sexual harassment at some point in their careers. What’s more, many studies show that the Covid-19 pandemic has made things even worse, with antisocial behavior directly linked to mask wearing and other hygiene issues becoming hot button issues both inside and outside the hospitality industry.

Safety Precautions in a Psychiatric Units: Keeping Psychiatric Nurses / NPs Safe

Health care workers in the U.S. face an array of complex challenges on a daily basis, and psychiatric hospitals can be particularly high risk environments for both patients and nurses and nurse practitioners (NPs). The safety culture and risk factors involved with any given mental health unit vary on a case-by-case basis. But facilitating a safe environment and ensuring that the nursing staff providing psychiatric care are safe from harm is essential and should always be the top priority for psychiatric services and mental health facilities nationwide.

The US hotel industry is incredibly diverse. Ranging from small, family-run guesthouses to large international hotel chains, the sector is one of the cornerstones of the country’s economy. However, while there is a huge amount of variety within the industry, there are a number of issues that most hotel owners and managers will face at some point in their careers.

Importance of Personal Safety Training for Social Workers

Social work is one of the fastest-growing careers in the U.S. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in Washington, D.C., there were over 715,000 social workers in the country in 2020, with there currently being over 200,000 clinically trained social workers (i.e., those with an MSW) in the country — more than psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses combined. The safety issues one faces in the social work profession largely depend on the specific field they’re in, but the well-being and personal safety concerns of these dedicated professionals should be a top priority across the board.

Injuries and accidents in the workplace can damage a business in a number of ways. Most importantly, they can impact the health and wellbeing of employees.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 4,764 fatal workplace accidents and 2.7 million nonfatal accidents in the US in 2020. Many of these workplace accidents will have left workers seriously injured and even permanently disabled.

People are required to work alone in roles across all industries. Whether it’s housekeepers cleaning remote areas of hotels, nurses caring for patients in private rooms or retail workers operating remote locations single handedly, millions of people spend at least a portion of their day without any co-workers nearby.  

The hospitality industry is incredibly varied. Taking in everything from hotels and motels to bars, restaurants, and entertainment spaces, hospitality businesses come in all shapes and sizes. However, there are a number of things companies operating in the industry have in common. One of the most universal is security.

Nurses do incredibly important work in high-pressure conditions, and thanks to the levels of stress experienced by many nurses, the industry has an exceptionally high turnover rate. Since 2016, the average hospital has turned over 90% of its workforce and 83% of its RN staff. As well as impacting patient care and staffing levels, this significant turnover costs healthcare organizations millions of dollars, with the average cost of turnover for a bedside RN ranging from $28,400 to $51,700. Subsequently, with such large numbers of experienced nurses leaving their roles, hospitals are losing up to $6.5 million per year.

Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals are often dealing with people when they’re at their most vulnerable. As a result, emotions can run high and tempers can flare. This means that however good your customer service skills, and however professional your staff members are, you’re likely to have to deal with angry and upset customers at regular intervals during your career.

Professionals in the healthcare industry suffer a disproportionately high number of violent events and physical injuries in the workplace. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 2016 saw U.S hospitals record 228,200 work-related injuries and illnesses, a rate of 5.9 work-related injuries and illnesses for every 100 full-time employees. That’s around twice the rate of private industry as a whole. The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have made the situation worse, with some parts of the country seeing violence against health workers increase by a shocking 300%.