Work-related violence at real estate sector: a questionnaire and a training program

Workers in real estate sector encounter more frequently violence at work than the workforce in general. The purpose of this study was (1) to find out the extent and nature of violence and the threat of violence as work-related health and safety risk in real estate work places; and (2) to develop a training program for employees in real estate companies. In this study, violence could be either physical, like hitting or grabbing or mental, like threatening. The number of experiences of violence or threat of violence was investigated through a questionnaire and statistical analysis. Questionnaire was delivered to employees in various companies at real estate sector, and 170 answers were received. The results indicated that almost 60% of the respondents had encountered violence during their work carrier and 14% of the accidents had happened during the last year. Based on these findings, a training program was developed and a pilot course was held. A method called KAURIS (developed recently in Finland for the retail industry) was utilized in the development of the training program for the real estate sector. The purpose of the course was on prevention and handling of difficult situations with customers. Both the results of the questionnaire and the experiences from the pilot course will be presented.