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"Workplace Safety"
When we think about dangerous professions and potential safety risks at work, real estate agents do not often appear high on the list. However, just like the student walking home late at night, the corner store clerk in a notoriously unsafe part of town, or the social worker meeting clients with criminal records, real estate agents get into unfamiliar situations in unfamiliar places, which greatly decreases their safety.
What’s been happening?
2011 has been a particularly dangerous year for real estate agents: the number of assaults, murders and robberies committed against Realtors is at an unseen high, according to a Realtor Safety Report published by AGBeat. Statistics show that over 70% of attacks were conducted against women, but both genders are at high risk when working alone. The majority of attacks also occurred outside urban areas, and although the most common intent of the assailants was robbery, a strikingly high 70% of attacks ended in murder. Another interesting finding was that the most attacks occurred on Thursday and Friday afternoons, rather than evenings or weekends.
Why Target Realtors?
There are several factors behind crimes against real estate agents and property. The primary part of a realtor’s job involves meeting with new people in new places, and the uncertainty adds to the element of risk in a realtor’s job. The economic situation and the high number of foreclosures across the United States has led to an increase in squatters, poverty, and crime. A realtor’s smiling face on a billboard represents the image of financial and social success, while an expensive car and suit effectively makes an agent an easily identifiable target.
How can Realtors stay safe?
Guardly recommends that real estate agents prepare for the risks and dangers associated with their profession. In addition to being aware of the possibility of assault, we strongly advise watching for suspicious activity – Realtors should always be writing down license plates of cars parked near empty houses, or checking a property in advance to ensure there aren’t any squatters. Be cautious and use a buddy system by attending showings in pairs, and make sure a colleague or family member knows where you are in case something happens. Finally, keep yourself safe with a personal safety device or smartphone application such as Guardly, which will allow you to communicate with emergency personnel, co-workers, friends, and family instantly in an emergency. Stay Safe!
Take a look at how Guardly is working with Realtors to promote safety with our Safe Realtor Program.
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Knowledge. Awareness. Empowerment. Those are the core components of realtor safety according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). As part of NAR’s ongoing efforts to keep their members safe, they’ve dedicated September as realtor safety month.
To help their members understand the risks they face, NAR has assembled a realtor safety resources kit. The kit is designed to educate realtors on the dangers of their profession by making them aware of their surroundings, and to empower them to take precautions and make preparations to avoid placing themselves in risky situations. The kit, which will be updated throughout the year, includes:
- New webinars on realtor safety, presented by industry experts.
- Quarterly safety messages focusing on seasonal tips for on the job and at home, sent to Associations and brokers to share with members.
- Expansion of client safety materials and resources.
NAR recently reported that over 25% of realtors said they had encountered a threatening or harassing situation at work. Guardly can also play an important role in keeping realtors safe. Guardly’s personal safety app and service transforms a realtor’s smartphone into a next-generation security service that can instantly alert friends, family, co-workers and the authorities that they need help.
Any time a realtor feels that their safety may be at risk, 1-tap to their smartphone will launch Guardly and instantly connect them using a phone call, email and text messages along with real-time location tracking to their own personal safety network. The alert can be sent to up to 15 different contacts and each responder will be able to work with the realtor to ensure that their situation is resolved quickly and safely. Guardly hopes that realtors across North America will take advantage of this important new safety service.
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While the schoolyard, the streets, and the home may seem like the most obvious places for a violent act to occur, we often forget that violence in many forms can take place in the workplace as well. Violence in the workplace can be easy to spot when it occurs as a physical act against a co-worker, but it can also exist in the form of harassment, be it sexual or verbal. The latter of which can be difficult to spot sometimes, and the Bill 168: Occupational Health and Safety Act (which saw an amendment towards the end of 2010) defines workplace harassment as “engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.” Unlike flagrant physical violence which presumably is easier to recognize, reoccurring harassment can be tolling on both a worker’s state of mind and general state of being. It can also be more difficult and even shameful to talk about.
What’s more, the Occupational Health and Safety Act states that employers must have “workplace violence programs that include measures and procedures for summoning immediate assistance when workplace violence occurs or is likely to occur.” Guardly can be used as a tool of relief in instances such as this. While it can often be difficult to talk about violence and harassment, Guardly allows the victim to report the perpetrator in a discreet manor by letting the victim discuss their issue with a secure and closed network of personal contacts which could include coworkers, friends and family of any combination.
Lastly, domestic violence is not only restricted to the home, as couples may share the same employer and place of work. The Occupational Health and Safety Act states “employers who are aware, or ought reasonably to be aware, that domestic violence may occur in the workplace must take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect a worker at risk of physical injury.” In a case such as this, an employer could utilize the Guardly application to report the domestic violence, as the victim may not be in a position to do so his/herself, especially in the heat of the moment. Guardly’s inherent discreetness and ease of use make it an appropriate and smart choice to help prevent and dissuade violence in the workplace in it’s many various forms.
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