Violence in the workplace may seem like a harsh word to use in a professional setting, however, such scenarios do happen. Some of these incidents might have even caught the attention of the media or had its share of the spotlight. Still, majority of these cases are kept within the confines of the company’s office premises, while a few may not even reach the attention of the management or human resource professionals. What’s definite is that workplace violence affects the moral and productivity of the employees.
Workplace violence covers a broad scope, since it doesn’t only apply to physical aggression, assault or threatening behavior that happens both inside and outside the workplace. Verbal abuse, harassment and even acts of sabotage would also fall under this category. Further, these acts are also recognized as specific type of a violent crime.
Interestingly, 16,400 threats are made against American workers on a daily basis, according to the Workplace Violence Research Institute. Apart from this, 43,800 people claim to be harassed every day and 723 report actual attacks. Data from the U.S. Department of Labor also indicated that from these numerous attacks, there are 750 homicides and 2 million non-fatal victims each year. The numbers are alarming and companies should take notice of it, so that they will learn how to protect the organization and its employees.
The first step is knowing the different forms of violence between co-workers, the factors that would contribute to workplace violence, as well as its symptoms. Having clear policies, procedures and programs to address it would also help.
To learn more about workplace violence, the contributory factors and suggested steps to prevent it, click here.
