With Christmas fast approaching, many people will be heading to the shopping centers to stock up on gifts, groceries and also prescriptions in time for holidays. But during this busy time there can often be delays, increased stress and frustration, which can sometimes boil over to abuse.
Retail pharmacists are no stranger to customer abuse, with many having experienced this during the COVID-19 pandemic.
SDA, the union for workers in retail, warehousing and fast food, has recently released a 2023 report on the nature and prevalence of abuse and violence by customers. Their report was based on a survey of more than 4,600 workers and showed that the prevalence of abuse and violence by customers has not improved since previous surveys.
The report showed that in the last 12 months:
- 87% of workers reported experiencing verbal abuse by a customer, on par with both 2016 and 2021 reports which recorded 88%.
- 76% experienced verbal abuse over a sustained period of time, rather than just isolated events. This was up significantly from 54% in 2021.
- 12.5% of respondents said they had been the victim of physical violence from a customer, compared with 8% in the 2021 survey.
- 9% of respondents said they had been spat on.
- Incidents reported of a sexual nature were up from 10.65% in the 2021 survey to 17%. Young female workers are at particular risk.
- More than half (52%) of abuse reported was by a repeat offender, up from 38.5% in 2021.
For the first time, the 2023 survey also asked whether workers had experienced abuse, harassment or violence from a customer that referenced their ethnicity, race or cultural background. 24% of workers responded that they had.
Elsewhere in the world, studies show that the situation for community pharmacists is grim. Data published in early 2023 from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Wellbeing Survey revealed two-thirds of UK community pharmacists have experienced physical or verbal abuse from the public in the past six months.
Workplace psychologist Mark Oostergo says that pharmacy staff can help diffuse and de-escalate difficult situations when active, reflective listening and demonstrating empathy aren’t working.
“If those techniques aren’t [working] to de-escalate, we might start to introduce some more assertive language around the behaviour being inappropriate. Things like needs-based requests.
“There’s a big difference between [saying] ‘slow down’ and ‘calm down.’ The language we’re using in those needs-based requests is important.”
To raise awareness of the risk to health and safety of abuse for workers SDA are continuing their No One Deserves A Serve campaign, which was originally launched in 2017.
Since its launch, the campaign has developed into an important part of the SDA’s work and a movement that actively promotes measures to curb customer abuse and violence – these include training, incident reporting, customer signage, banning notices and increased security.
To read the report’s findings and to learn more about the campaign and sign the petition, visit the campaign website.
To hear more from Mark Oostergo, listen to the latest PBCN Podcast.
A reminder too, that the TELUS Health Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides confidential and professional counselling services for pharmacists, pharmacy assistants and retail staff, as well as the immediate family, of registered Guild members.
Help is available for a wide range of personal and work-related issues, including stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and relationship problems.
