Violence in the Workplace

Workplace violence is one of the most important security issues faced by companies today, as these activities span a lengthy continuum from coworker bullying and intimidation to verbal threats to homicide. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), approximately 1.5 million workers are assaulted and more than 500 people are murdered in the workplace every year in the United States. Despite the dramatic headlines that accompany workplace fatalities, they represented only 0.1% of all violent work incidents in the 1990s. More than three quarters of the incidents involved simple assaults, which are typically attempts to commit an injury or acts that place another in fear of receiving a violent injury.

The U.S. Department of Justice identifies four types of workplace violence, including (1) violent acts by criminals who have no other connection with the workplace but enter to commit robbery or another crime; (2) violence directed at employees by customers, clients, patients, students, inmates, or any others for whom an organization provides services; (3) violence against coworkers, supervisors, or managers by a present or former employee; and (4) violence committed in the workplace by someone who doesn't work there but has a personal relationship with an employee.

Taxi drivers and clerks working late-night shifts at convenience stores are often subject to the first type of violence. These employees may be injured or further harmed when confronted by criminal activity on the job. The first type of violence is more prevalent in industries where employees work alone or at night, are extensively involved with the public, are located in dangerous neighborhoods, carry or have access to cash, and have a greater likelihood of coming into contact with criminals. Approximately 80% of workplace homicides are the result of this type of violence.

Airline attendants are increasingly experiencing the second category of workplace violence when passengers become unruly, drunk, or otherwise violent while in flight. Airline employees across the United States, Australia, and Switzerland staged a campaign to combat “air rage,” the uncivil and dangerous acts of passengers that are not only punishable by large fines but can also threaten the safety of everyone aboard the aircraft. Health care workers are also subject to high rates of workplace violence, with nurses the most frequent target of assaults by patients or a patient's friends or family. Emergency rooms, psychiatric wards, acute care facilities, and crisis units are especially dangerous.

Third, disagreements and stress in the workplace may escalate into employee-on-employee violence. For example, a Xerox Corporation warehouse employee opened fire during a team meeting at a facility in Honolulu, killing seven coworkers. The employee was eventually convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the shooting, which was described as the worst tragedy in the company's history. The Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division later cited Xerox for failing to enforce workplace violence policies that might have prevented the deaths. In many of these cases, the perpetrator has been recently reprimanded, dismissed, or given other negative feedback that prompted the violent attack.

Finally, some violence in the workplace is the result of domestic disturbances or stalking behaviors. [Page 2183]In these situations, an employee is confronted at work by someone whom he or she knows, such as an abusive spouse or domestic partner. This partner may be highly jealous, fearful, emotionally unstable, fueled by drugs or alcohol, or unable to accept a divorce or the end of a relationship.

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