Essay on Workplace Violence

That’s about a million people in the workplace each year who are the victims of some form of violent crime, which includes physical attacks, threats, harassment or property crimes (Kenny, Joseph A.).

Workplace violence most often involves aggressive behavior towards peers, subordinates, supervisors, and other members of the workforce. This can range from verbal abuse to physical violence. Aggression may occur as a response to many situations. Common examples are when individuals face the loss of a job, are passed over for promotion, or perceive favoritism toward others in the work environment.

Unfortunately, workplace violence is all too familiar for most these days. Most think of violence as some sort of physical altercation. However, it’s not only physical, but includes threatening and endangering behavior towards one, or a group of employees. In fact, you may be surprised by some of the actions that are included in workplace violence. Some that you may not think of, but they include and are not limited to: harassment, intimidation, extortion and threats. Obviously, things like assault, kidnapping, homicide, etc… Nearly two million people are involved or victims of workplace violence every year. In the United States, violence is measured with fatal and non-fatal statistics. Violence has surpassed accidental death as the leading

The Xerox shooting and the Sheraton stabbing are good examples of such violent episodes. Both incidences exhibited prior evidence of violence in the workplace; and if proper intervention by management was initiated, these tragedies could have been prevented. Therefore, employers need a good workplace violence program to protect their employees as well as their customers.

According to federal government statistics: About 700 people a year are murdered on the job. Between 1992 and 2012, there were 14,770 workplace homicide victims. Staggering statistic, I know!

More recently, legislation to increase penalties for assaulting health care providers was drafted in some states but passed in only seven states (Papa & Venella, 2013). With workplace violence continuously on the rise, concerns about the management of this issue are also growing. Through the use of violence prevention training programs targeting all staff, but especially management as they play a pivotal role in the reporting process and mitigating the situation if possible, workplace violence can

International Council of Nurses (ICN). (2007). Guidelines on coping with violence in the workplace. Geneva: ICN.

According to the FBI, workplace violence is the number one growing homicide in the United States. There are an estimated 225,000 to 300,000 occurrences of violence each year. Despite the aforementioned statistic, some managers have simply failed to address the issue of workplace violence. Such negligence has not necessarily been purposeful. It has been due to a lack of awareness of the problem coupled with a preoccupation of everyday pressures.

Over all work place violence can be classified as fatal events and nonfatal events; where about 700 people a murdered on the job. There are roughly two million workers a year affected by a form of nonfatal workplace violence, where many have no know knowledge of the individual; there are some that are related to family domestic issues that bleed over into the workforce. (Sahadi, 2015) Many people experience some form of psychological bullying at sometime within their career, according to the bureau of Labor statistics, (2015) there were about 572,000 cases of workplace violence in

Forty-five percent of all workplace violence incidents that result in lost workdays involve healthcare workers, according to Health Care Workers Unprotected.

Every type of workplace has the potential for workplace violence to take place. However, health care professionals have a much higher rate of experiencing workplace violence than other professions. This is largely due to the type of patients that health care professionals see. Patients that are more likely to become aggressive and violent are patients with a mental illness, patients presenting to the emergency department, and other patients in acute care settings. Patients are not the only people with the potential to become violent. Patient’s families, visitors, coworkers, and other 3rd parties can all be sources of violence. It is important to be able to recognize situations that may become violent and

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), " each week, an average of 20 workers are murdered and 18,000 are assaulted at work. Non-fatal assault’s at work result in millions of lost days and cost businesses’ millions of lost workdays. And the most disturbing finding homicide is the leading cause of death for women in the workplace." (http://www.ocpapsych.com/mtart4.htm). As a result, violence in the workplace has received considerable attention in the press and media and also in safety and health professionals.

We do not normally go to work expecting something bad to happen, but workplace-related violence can occur any time. When we interact at work there is always a risk of violence at the workplace. We can witness acts of violence, and even become a victim of aggressor. Usually people think that violence involves only physical assault. In reality, workplace violence is a much bigger problem.

Workplace violence is a serious and growing issue in society. Employers need to develop intervention strategies to decrease reduce violence in the workplace. Also, employers and employees need to be aware of the signs when people exhibit behaviors that can lead to workplace violence. As a society, the issue needs to be acknowledged of the reality and work together for creating a solution. Lastly, employers and employees must not live in fear of addressing concerns if they see the potential for workplace violence or report when they witness or experience workplace violence.

Violence in the workplace is a growing trend among American businesses that needs the prompt attention of individuals, governments, and corporations alike. In fact it is so serious that “violence in the workplace in recent years has grown to be the second leading cause of death in the workplace” (Baron, Hoffman, & Merrill, 2000). Responding to this epidemic will take a tailored dynamic approach that must be embraced by employees and management alike. First, we must understand exactly what constitutes workplace violence and understand some common triggers from past cases. Second, employees and managers must know and understand what signs they must be aware of that could escalate into workplace violence through effective and recurring