Reinforcing Facility Safety During the Holidays

Contributed by TAL Global

View the holiday season like two sides of the same coin.

· One side is fun, gifts, and good cheer.

· The other side is risk, violence, and crime. 

In fact, the holiday season is one of the riskiest times of the year for businesses, healthcare facilities, retailers, hospitality, schools, and universities. 

Here are five risks consumers and organizations should be aware of during the holidays: 

Workplace Violence

Workplace violence tends to increase during the holidays due to several factors, including added stress, lack of sleep, increased pressure at work, risk confrontation, and tensions at home.

All of these factors can lead to workplace violence, but they increase during the holiday season.

Retail Theft

Retailers are increasingly worried about organized retail theft. This type of theft involves a group of individuals working together to steal from stores.

Mike Keenan, an expert at TAL Global in reducing retail theft, says that "organized retail theft is now big business" and it “poses a significant challenge for retailers especially during the holiday season.”

Home and Office Burglaries

If you’ve ever wondered if home and office burglaries go up during the holiday season, here’s your answer: YES. Going back more than a decade, reports indicate that burglaries jump — often dramatically — during the holidays.

Retailers are the most negatively impacted, but warehouses, distribution centers, construction sites, bars and restaurants have all reported an increase in burglaries, especially right after the holiday.

Auto Theft

The National Insurance Crime Bureau keeps tabs on all types of crime throughout the year. Invariably they report that auto thefts increase during the holidays. The holidays in which vehicle theft is the highest are the following:

· New Years Day (tops the list)

· New Years Eve

· Christmas Eve

· Thanksgiving

· Christmas Day

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment often increases during the holiday season, especially at office parties. This kind of harassment can involve unwanted touching, grabbing, poking, sexual jokes, and remarks.

Individuals who are usually well-behaved may cross the line at a holiday party. Serving more food and a little less alcohol this holiday season may minimize this problem.