Workplace Violence: Definition and Incidence

This is an increasingly visible problem affecting employee safety, promoted in large measure by the periodic and dramatic murders that are often lead stories on major news programs. These events generally involve a disgruntled employee with a weapon who returns to an employer’s premises to “settle a score”. (For an example, see page 340 of the Course reserve reading for this lesson.) Interestingly, however, most of us will (thankfully) never experience moments of that sort. We are much more likely to be part of less painful incidents, but incidents which nonetheless stress the stakeholders involved.

Workplace violence includes four discrete types of incidents.

1. Criminal incidents where there is no personal or business relationship with victim. This is most typified by the robbery of a convenience store clerk;
2. Customer/client incidents very often occurring in settings where employees are assaulted by individuals for whom they provide personal care;
3. Co-worker incidents that often “bubble up” based on a variety of stressors that generate conflict and eventually violence;
4. Domestic violence incidents that find their way to the workplace.

Comprehensive data on the incidence of all types of workplace violence is difficult to find. What is now somewhat dated is a survey that the U.S. Department of Labor conducted that presents fatal (1992-2014) and non-fatal (2002-2011) workplace injuries.

OSHA Policy

For as many pages as exist in OSHA policy and regulations, there is no specific standard that speaks to workplace violence. The OSHA website raises this issue by making the following statement:

… (U)nder the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970, employers are required to provide their employees with a place of employment that "is free from recognizable hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious harm to employees." The courts have interpreted OSHA's general duty clause to mean that an employer has a legal obligation to provide a workplace free of conditions or activities that either the employer or industry recognizes as hazardous and that cause, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm to employees when there is a feasible method to abate the hazard. Source: United State Department of Labor OSHA: General Duty Clause

United States Department of Labor Safety and Health Topics: Workplace violence: Enforcement

Preventing Workplace Violence

Just knowing how to identify types and frequency of violence is only the beginning of the larger question: How do we prevent workplace violence? The answer to this question starts with an understanding of those variables that are likely to place employees at risk. The National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) identifies a number of risk factors related to the incidence of workplace violence.

• Contact with the public
• Exchange of money
• Delivery of passengers, goods, or services
• Having a mobile workplace such as a taxicab or police cruiser
• Working with unstable or volatile persons in health care, social service, or criminal justice settings
• Working alone or in small numbers
• Working late at night or during early morning hours
• Working in high-crime areas
• Guarding valuable property or possessions
• Working in community-based settings

Source: The National Institue for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Violence in the Workplace: Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies

An analysis of the degree to which these factors exist within an organization is the beginning of the inquiry that can help identify prevention options. Those options are often grouped into three categories:

Table 13.2 Workplace Violence Prevention

Category	Definition
Engineering Controls	Creating physical barriers (e.g., bullet proof glass) protecting employees; increasing lighting in parking areas.
Work Practice Controls	Reengineering work (e.g., requiring two employees to visit customers in remote locations; creating a “buddy system” in going to parking lots late at night)
Personal Protection	Providing field employees with defensive sprays; providing employees with cell phones when not at office locations.