- Email: [email protected]
Fatal injuries in hospitality establishments
International Journal of Hospitality Management 33 (2013) A1–A2
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
International Journal of Hospitality Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman
Editorial
Fatal injuries in hospitality establishments
Having read that a hospitality employee in a local restaurant was fatally injured at work, I decided to look into this subject and examine the data that is annually published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Since these types of incidences are required by law to be reported to the BLS, the published report represents an accurate national census of all fatal injuries at work. Table 1 below is a summary of the number and rate of fatal occupational injuries by industry sector in 2011. As can see from this table, the total number of fatal injuries in the Leisure and Hospitality industry in 2011 was 224, which represents 4.9% of all fatal injuries and 5.4% of fatal injuries in the private sector. The fatal work injury rate per 100,000 employees for this industry was 2.1 as compared to 3.5 for all- worker rate. At first glance, these numbers looked relative low as compared to other industries and placed the Leisure and Hospitality industry in the 11th rank out of 15. However, when I looked further into the available data I discovered to my surprise that the news were not as good as I thought since the percent of fatal injuries by violence and other injuries by persons or animals in the Leisure and Hospitality industry was
Table 1 Number and rate of fatal occupational injuries by Industry Sector, 2011. Industry
Number of fatal injuries
Fatal work injury rate (per 100,000 full-time employees)
Transportation & Warehousing Construction Agriculture, Forestry Fishing & Hunting Government Professional and Business Services Manufacturing Retail Trade Leisure & Hospitality Wholesale Trade Other Services Mining Education & Health Services Financial Activities Information Utilities Total & All Worker Rate
733 721 557 495 424 322 266 224 189 177 154 151 95 58 39 4609
15.0 8.9 24.4 2.2 2.9 2.2 1.9 2.1 4.9 2.9 15.8 0.8 1.1 2.0 4.2 3.5
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012), News Release: National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2011 (Preliminary Results). Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, September 20, 2012. 0278-4319/$ – see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0278-4319(13)00041-8
2.7 times higher than in all private industries (41.5% vs. 15.3%) and 2.4 times higher than all industries (41.5% vs. 16.9%). That to me was an indicator that a large and disproportionate number of fatal injuries in the Hospitality and Leisure industry were caused by violent means and not necessarily by accidents. To confirm my hypothesis I dug deeper into the data and analyzed the number and percent of work-related homicides out of the total number of fatal injuries. Furthermore, I analyzed these data by the sub sectors of the Hospitality & Leisure industry. As can be seen from Table 2 the numbers were quite staggering and worrisome. I found out that the percent of work-related homicides out of the total fatal injuries in the Leisure and Hospitality industry as a whole was 3.3 times higher than that of all private industries (30.4% vs. 9.0%). Furthermore, when examining the data for the sub sectors of this industry I found that for the accommodation subsector the percent of homicides was 2.3 times higher than that for all private industries (20.7% vs. 9.0%) and for the foodservice and drinking places sub-sector, the percent of homicides was 6.4 times higher than that for all private industries (57.8% vs. 9.0%). But the most astonishing and troublesome fact was the discovery that in alcoholic drinking places the percent of homicides out of total fatal injuries, was 9.2 times higher than that for all private industries (83.3% vs. 9.0%). This leads us to the inevitable conclusion that the foodservice industry and more specifically the alcoholic beverages establishments within it, are afflicted by a relatively large number of work-related homicides. I consulted several resources as to the nature and cause of these homicides and discovered that contrary to popular belief “the majority of these incidences are not caused by disgruntled coworkers and spouses but rather result from robberies” (Sygnatur and Toscano, 2000, p. 3). In 1998, 67% of work-related homicides were caused by robbers as compared to 15% that were caused by coworkers and previous coworkers, and 8% by customers or clients. Research suggests that work-related homicides are not spread evenly across all workplaces. More than 60% of all workplace homicides occur in retail or service settings such as food and grocery stores, conveniences stores, restaurants, alcoholic beverage establishments and gas stations. About three- fourths of these homicides occur during robberies. (Sygnatur and Toscano, 2000, pp. 4–5). The data also show that “the number of job-related homicides is higher between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. for night time occupations like taxicab drivers, grocery store operators and proprietors of eating and drinking places (Sygnatur and Toscano, 2000, p. 6). Other research conducted at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) suggests a number of factors that increase
A2
Editorial / International Journal of Hospitality Management 33 (2013) A1–A2
Table 2 Fatal Occupational Injuries by Selected Industries and Events or Exposure in USA for the Year 2011. [A] Industry & sub Industries
[B] Total fatal injuries (number)
[C] Total fatal injuries (percentage)
[D] Number of fatal injuries by violence and other injuries by persons or animals
[E] Percent of Injuries by Violence and Other Injuries by Persons or Animals
[F] Number of Homicides
[G] Percent of Homicides out of total fatal injuries
All industries − Private Industry + Leisure and Hospitality * Arts, Entertainment & Recreation * Accommodation & Foodservice # Accommodation # Foodservice & Drinking Places ˆ Full-Service Restaurants ˆ Limited-Service Eating Places ˆ Special Food Services ˆ Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
4609 4114 224 93 131 29 102 33 34 5 30
100.0 89.3 4.9 2.0 2.9 0.6 2.2 0.7 0.7 0.1 0.6
780 628 90 14 76 10 66 17 20 3 26
16.9 15.3 41.5 15.0 58.0 34.4 64.7 51.5 58.8 60.0 86.7
458 370 68 3 65 6 59 15 16 3 25
9.9 9.0 30.4 3.2 49.6 20.7 57.8 45.5 47.1 60.0 83.3
Sources: (1) Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor (2012) News Release: National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2011 (Preliminary Results). (2) www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoil.htm
the likelihood of workplace violence including homicide. “They include: • Working with persons in healthcare or social services who may tend to be mentally unstable or violent • Having contact with the public, especially involving the exchange of money • Having a mobile workplace, such as a taxicab or delivery truck • Guarding property or possessions • Working alone, especially in high-crime areas “(Wolf, 2008). As can be seen from the above, the hospitality and foodservice industries are highly susceptible to incidences of work-related fatal injuries including violence and homicides. Therefore, every measure should be taken by the management of these establishments to put in place equipment, policies, and training programs to prevent and/or minimize the frequency of such incidents. Luckily, a number of both governmental and non-governmental institutions in the USA have studied these issues and came out with a number of suggestions to reduce the incidences of work-related violence in those industries that are afflicted by this ailment. For example NIOSH in a publication titled Violence in the Work Place (NIOSH, 1996) suggested a number of prevention strategies that fall into three categories as follows: “Environmental designs to reduce cash handling, increase physical separation (through bullet-proof barriers), improve lighting, and make use of silent alarms and surveillance cameras and, where appropriate, body armor. Administrative controls, such as increasing the number of staff on duty, reviewing cash handling procedures, improving policies for reporting threats, increasing education and training in dealing with workplace violence, and improving medical support after an incident has occurred.
Behavioral strategies to improve both conflict resolution and awareness of the risks of workplace violence.” (Excerpted from NIOSH, 1996 by Wolf, 2008). Another more detailed listing of prevention strategies of high relevance to the hospitality and foodservice industries can be found in a publication produced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) titled Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs (OSHA, 2009). It is my hope that by attracting the attention of hospitality researchers and practitioners to this serious problem in our industry, more studies will be done in the context of the hospitality industry on work-related fatalities with special emphasis on violence and homicide and more affordable solutions will be found to prevent or reduce the frequency of such incidents. References Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2012. News Release: National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2011 (Preliminary Results). Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, September 20. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1996. Violence in the Workplace – Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies, NIOSH, Washington, DC, July 16. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2009. Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs, Washington, D.C. OSHA. Publication # 3153-12R. Wolf, Martin, 2008. Violence in the Workplace – An Updated Analysis. NCCI Research Brief, Boca Raton, Florida: The National Council on Compensation Insurance, Summer 2008.
Editor-in-Chief Abraham Pizam Rosen College of Hospitality Management University of Central Florida, United States
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
International Journal of Hospitality Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman
Editorial
Fatal injuries in hospitality establishments
Having read that a hospitality employee in a local restaurant was fatally injured at work, I decided to look into this subject and examine the data that is annually published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Since these types of incidences are required by law to be reported to the BLS, the published report represents an accurate national census of all fatal injuries at work. Table 1 below is a summary of the number and rate of fatal occupational injuries by industry sector in 2011. As can see from this table, the total number of fatal injuries in the Leisure and Hospitality industry in 2011 was 224, which represents 4.9% of all fatal injuries and 5.4% of fatal injuries in the private sector. The fatal work injury rate per 100,000 employees for this industry was 2.1 as compared to 3.5 for all- worker rate. At first glance, these numbers looked relative low as compared to other industries and placed the Leisure and Hospitality industry in the 11th rank out of 15. However, when I looked further into the available data I discovered to my surprise that the news were not as good as I thought since the percent of fatal injuries by violence and other injuries by persons or animals in the Leisure and Hospitality industry was
Table 1 Number and rate of fatal occupational injuries by Industry Sector, 2011. Industry
Number of fatal injuries
Fatal work injury rate (per 100,000 full-time employees)
Transportation & Warehousing Construction Agriculture, Forestry Fishing & Hunting Government Professional and Business Services Manufacturing Retail Trade Leisure & Hospitality Wholesale Trade Other Services Mining Education & Health Services Financial Activities Information Utilities Total & All Worker Rate
733 721 557 495 424 322 266 224 189 177 154 151 95 58 39 4609
15.0 8.9 24.4 2.2 2.9 2.2 1.9 2.1 4.9 2.9 15.8 0.8 1.1 2.0 4.2 3.5
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012), News Release: National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2011 (Preliminary Results). Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, September 20, 2012. 0278-4319/$ – see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0278-4319(13)00041-8
2.7 times higher than in all private industries (41.5% vs. 15.3%) and 2.4 times higher than all industries (41.5% vs. 16.9%). That to me was an indicator that a large and disproportionate number of fatal injuries in the Hospitality and Leisure industry were caused by violent means and not necessarily by accidents. To confirm my hypothesis I dug deeper into the data and analyzed the number and percent of work-related homicides out of the total number of fatal injuries. Furthermore, I analyzed these data by the sub sectors of the Hospitality & Leisure industry. As can be seen from Table 2 the numbers were quite staggering and worrisome. I found out that the percent of work-related homicides out of the total fatal injuries in the Leisure and Hospitality industry as a whole was 3.3 times higher than that of all private industries (30.4% vs. 9.0%). Furthermore, when examining the data for the sub sectors of this industry I found that for the accommodation subsector the percent of homicides was 2.3 times higher than that for all private industries (20.7% vs. 9.0%) and for the foodservice and drinking places sub-sector, the percent of homicides was 6.4 times higher than that for all private industries (57.8% vs. 9.0%). But the most astonishing and troublesome fact was the discovery that in alcoholic drinking places the percent of homicides out of total fatal injuries, was 9.2 times higher than that for all private industries (83.3% vs. 9.0%). This leads us to the inevitable conclusion that the foodservice industry and more specifically the alcoholic beverages establishments within it, are afflicted by a relatively large number of work-related homicides. I consulted several resources as to the nature and cause of these homicides and discovered that contrary to popular belief “the majority of these incidences are not caused by disgruntled coworkers and spouses but rather result from robberies” (Sygnatur and Toscano, 2000, p. 3). In 1998, 67% of work-related homicides were caused by robbers as compared to 15% that were caused by coworkers and previous coworkers, and 8% by customers or clients. Research suggests that work-related homicides are not spread evenly across all workplaces. More than 60% of all workplace homicides occur in retail or service settings such as food and grocery stores, conveniences stores, restaurants, alcoholic beverage establishments and gas stations. About three- fourths of these homicides occur during robberies. (Sygnatur and Toscano, 2000, pp. 4–5). The data also show that “the number of job-related homicides is higher between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. for night time occupations like taxicab drivers, grocery store operators and proprietors of eating and drinking places (Sygnatur and Toscano, 2000, p. 6). Other research conducted at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) suggests a number of factors that increase
A2
Editorial / International Journal of Hospitality Management 33 (2013) A1–A2
Table 2 Fatal Occupational Injuries by Selected Industries and Events or Exposure in USA for the Year 2011. [A] Industry & sub Industries
[B] Total fatal injuries (number)
[C] Total fatal injuries (percentage)
[D] Number of fatal injuries by violence and other injuries by persons or animals
[E] Percent of Injuries by Violence and Other Injuries by Persons or Animals
[F] Number of Homicides
[G] Percent of Homicides out of total fatal injuries
All industries − Private Industry + Leisure and Hospitality * Arts, Entertainment & Recreation * Accommodation & Foodservice # Accommodation # Foodservice & Drinking Places ˆ Full-Service Restaurants ˆ Limited-Service Eating Places ˆ Special Food Services ˆ Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
4609 4114 224 93 131 29 102 33 34 5 30
100.0 89.3 4.9 2.0 2.9 0.6 2.2 0.7 0.7 0.1 0.6
780 628 90 14 76 10 66 17 20 3 26
16.9 15.3 41.5 15.0 58.0 34.4 64.7 51.5 58.8 60.0 86.7
458 370 68 3 65 6 59 15 16 3 25
9.9 9.0 30.4 3.2 49.6 20.7 57.8 45.5 47.1 60.0 83.3
Sources: (1) Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor (2012) News Release: National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2011 (Preliminary Results). (2) www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoil.htm
the likelihood of workplace violence including homicide. “They include: • Working with persons in healthcare or social services who may tend to be mentally unstable or violent • Having contact with the public, especially involving the exchange of money • Having a mobile workplace, such as a taxicab or delivery truck • Guarding property or possessions • Working alone, especially in high-crime areas “(Wolf, 2008). As can be seen from the above, the hospitality and foodservice industries are highly susceptible to incidences of work-related fatal injuries including violence and homicides. Therefore, every measure should be taken by the management of these establishments to put in place equipment, policies, and training programs to prevent and/or minimize the frequency of such incidents. Luckily, a number of both governmental and non-governmental institutions in the USA have studied these issues and came out with a number of suggestions to reduce the incidences of work-related violence in those industries that are afflicted by this ailment. For example NIOSH in a publication titled Violence in the Work Place (NIOSH, 1996) suggested a number of prevention strategies that fall into three categories as follows: “Environmental designs to reduce cash handling, increase physical separation (through bullet-proof barriers), improve lighting, and make use of silent alarms and surveillance cameras and, where appropriate, body armor. Administrative controls, such as increasing the number of staff on duty, reviewing cash handling procedures, improving policies for reporting threats, increasing education and training in dealing with workplace violence, and improving medical support after an incident has occurred.
Behavioral strategies to improve both conflict resolution and awareness of the risks of workplace violence.” (Excerpted from NIOSH, 1996 by Wolf, 2008). Another more detailed listing of prevention strategies of high relevance to the hospitality and foodservice industries can be found in a publication produced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) titled Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs (OSHA, 2009). It is my hope that by attracting the attention of hospitality researchers and practitioners to this serious problem in our industry, more studies will be done in the context of the hospitality industry on work-related fatalities with special emphasis on violence and homicide and more affordable solutions will be found to prevent or reduce the frequency of such incidents. References Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2012. News Release: National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2011 (Preliminary Results). Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, September 20. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1996. Violence in the Workplace – Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies, NIOSH, Washington, DC, July 16. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2009. Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs, Washington, D.C. OSHA. Publication # 3153-12R. Wolf, Martin, 2008. Violence in the Workplace – An Updated Analysis. NCCI Research Brief, Boca Raton, Florida: The National Council on Compensation Insurance, Summer 2008.
Editor-in-Chief Abraham Pizam Rosen College of Hospitality Management University of Central Florida, United States