Occupational Violence and Aggression (OVA)

Services Occupational Violence and Aggression (OVA)

Aggression in workplaces, however subtle, is a psychosocial hazard that can be prevented, detected and managed. Failing to do so creates increases in cost and liability that can be avoided by forensic management strategies to underpin enhancement of psychological safety at work.

At Code Black Psychology we take the guesswork out of managing harmful behaviour by helping organisations address psychosocial hazards such as OVA to identify and control the associated risks. Our team is skilled at translating clinical and forensic research and practice into measurable strategies to control risk. We focus on both active risk mitigation and deliberate methods to promote and protect psychological safety. Our clients are from the Australian and New Zealand corporate, legal and higher education sectors and have reported great success in implementing our recommendations. The services we provide to workplaces experiencing OVA include:

Our Services

  • OVA consultations             
  • Psychosocial hazards assessments and gap analyses
  • Psychological safety assessments and gap analyses
  • Preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based harms in workplaces         
  • Forensic support in dispute and conflict resolution          
  • Threat assessments and skill building threat management teams
  • Evidence-based management of persistent harms, such as bullying and stalking     
  • Responding to persistent and unreasonable complainants      
  • Implementing positive actions to support a shift from reactive to proactive management when creating psychologically safe and inclusive workplaces
  • Incorporating behavioural aggression into risk registers
  • Organisational training and mentoring for:
    • Building psychological safety and mentally healthy workplaces
    • Trauma and vicarious trauma at work
    • General violence vs targeted violence risk mitigation              
    • Preventing and responding to psychosocial hazards such as aggression
    • Calling out poor conduct by high performers
    • Encouraging colleagues to be active bystanders
    • Family violence at work: Doing more than approving some extra days of leave

Creating psychological safety

Psychological safety in the workplace involves ensuring that all team members feel safe at work. This includes working in a threat-free environment and not being made to feel embarrassed, rejected or humiliated for speaking up.

Psychological violence is a damaging and expensive interruption to workplace culture and productivity. Many employees worry that no action will be taken if they speak up. They also worry that they may be judged as causing an ‘unnecessary fuss’.  Code Black Psychology strive to create psychological safety in a workplace by using up to date, best-practice approaches that are appropriate for the needs of our clients.

As part of our practice, we also recognise the important role that bystanders can play in creating a psychologically safe workplace. We offer bystander training to organisations to help them build their capabilities and empower everyone to be an active bystander.

Copyright @ 2022 Code Black Psychology - Aggression Continuum | Level of Harm Inflicted
© 2022 Code Black Psychology

Managing persistent and unreasonable complaints

Persistent behaviour is behaviour that is goal-directed and resistant to obstacles, difficulties and discouragement. When channelled into positive pursuits such as sport, academia or business, persistence can be a virtue. At other times, it can have a darker expression. Some people use persistent behaviour to focus on grievances, perceived injustices, and humiliations. This can lead to a disregard for due process, and the development of harmful obsessions and righteousness. In some workplaces, the persistent behaviour of aggrieved individuals can lead to the lodgement of multiple and spurious complaints that cost time and money to resolve and impact the wellbeing of staff targeted.

At Code Black Psychology, we help our clients to manage persistent and unreasonable behaviours in the workplace. Balancing the need to respond to complaints whilst limiting the drain on resources is essential. We support systemic-based responses, that underpin consistent and fair responses proactively addressing emerging signs of behavioural risk whilst protecting individuals in the organisation tasked with managing this challenging cohort.

  • Executing complaint managements and early recognition of persistent and unreasonable complainants

Forensically informed dispute resolution

Forensically informed dispute resolution involves using a range of resolution processes in order to settle a legal or workplace dispute. At Code Black Psychology we work with our clients to bring best practice behavioural science solutions to situations that cannot be resolved in-house. Using a consultancy like Code Black Psychology allows organisations to ensure that all parties feel empowered and heard. It also ensures that the psychological safety of all participants is safeguarded and maximised throughout the process. Our team has supported many highly sensitive cases for government, legal firms and corporations.

Evidence-based responses to bullying and harassment

Creating evidence-based responses to bullying and harassment is essential for ensuring psychological safety within a workplace. At Code Black Psychology, we help workplaces address issues of bullying and harassment by:

  • Creating psychologically safe cultures as universal prevention
  • Clearly defining the behaviours, intentions and impacts that fall outside Codes of Conduct
  • Differentiating between bullying and harassment – they are not the same thing
  • Avoiding further trauma while investigating
  • Understanding the importance of active bystander programs
  • Using outcomes to create organisational change

Who we work with

We provide consulting and training services to organisations impacted by harmful behaviours. Our staff are often involved in research projects in the area as well. As registered psychology, law and social work professionals, we work at the intersection of mental health, policing, and the law. This means that we can provide an array of evaluations and practical recommendations across a broad range of industries, including:

  • Government
  • Legal
  • Higher education
  • Healthcare
  • Private enterprise
  • Private clients
Get in touch

Need more information?

Contact us today to find out how we can help.

Get in touch

Code Black Psychology acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet and work and pay our respect to Elders past, present and future. Read more about our acknowledgement.

We value and include people of all cultures, languages, abilities, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and intersex status. We are committed to providing programs that are fully inclusive. We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of people of all ages.

New Podcast

Listen to the Complexity of Aggression now

Get in touch