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Preventing and Dealing With Workplace Violence

Human behavior can be extremely difficult to predict. Despite this, government organizations and companies have prioritized the issue of predicting workplace violence in the past several years. In the United States, an average of 1.7 million acts of workplace violence per year were committed between 1993 and 1999.

Where does violence in the workplace come from? Are some environments more violent than others? Are some people more violent than others? Let’s start with some numbers:

From 1993-1999, the U.S. Department of Justice reported the average annual acts of workplace violence as follows:

• 1.3 million simple assaults
• 325,000 aggravated assault
• 70,000 robberies
• 36,500 rape/sexual assaults
• 900 homicides

Violence can come from a number of sources in the workplace. The first, most obvious source of violence is the public. Businesses that have a lot of contact with the public are at increased risk of experiencing a violent incident. The top five most dangerous industries are:

• Law enforcement
• Mental health
• Retail sales
• Teaching
• Transportation
• Medical

Think for a minute about these industries. What makes them most prone to violence? What do they have in common? The answer: contact with the public. All of these industries consistently have contact with a large number of people, customers, patients, or students. Factors that place an organization at risk include: exchanging money with the public, working alone or in small numbers, working late at night or early in the morning, working in the community (police or taxi cab drivers), and providing services to high-risk clients (hospitals, social services).

A second and important source of violence in the workplace is threat from co-workers. In these cases, the violence is often a culmination of frustration coming from perceived unfairness or unsolved problems in the workplace. Some of the “trigger” events that may lead to potentially violent behavior include:

• Unresolved conflicts with co-workers, supervisors, or managers
• A poor performance review (especially a string of poor reviews)
• A recent reprimand

Third and finally, a spouse or family member of an employee can bring violence into your workplace. Domestic violence can be a real source of danger when brought into the workplace. While not necessarily an intended target of violence, any employee can become a victim in this situation.

What causes a person to become aggressive or violent?
Frustration. People don’t just snap. Often a violent incident is the culmination of many days or weeks of unanswered frustration. A person may try a number of appropriate strategies to deal with a concern but see little or no improvement in their situation. Some work-related frustrations can include:

• Deadlines and pressures
• Unresolved accumulated gripes
• Changes for and new expectations of the employee that put them out of their comfort zone
• Increased responsibility
• Loss of a role, loss of security
• Withholding recognition or rewards
• Feeling threatened by others
• Lack of clear communication
• Breach of trust, inconsistency in dealing with workplace issues
• Perception of unfairness

Employees may deal effectively with frustrations for awhile. However, if the issues are not resolved, then the employee may be less and less able to cope appropriately. As stress increases at work, conflict becomes more likely. The more conflict employees must cope with, the greater potential for aggression and violence.

What is violence in the workplace?
In the early stages, violence in the workplace can be subtle. Treatment of others in an inappropriate or demeaning way is frequently the beginning of a pattern. Violence is often an attempt to gain or regain control. Workplace violence can be understood on the following continuum:

Continuum of Aggression

Notice that in the beginning, the behavior is more likely to be verbal. Individuals may intimidate others by verbal threats or non-verbal messages, such as tone of voice, eye contact, and invading another’s personal space. Over time, the behavior becomes more and more aggressive.

How can workplace violence be prevented?
The most important thing to remember is that early intervention will yield the best results. If an employee or customer is frustrated and angry, a careful and appropriate approach to the situation will be much more likely to diffuse the situation than intervention at a point when physical aggression is taking place.

Keep your eyes and ears open. Understand the continuum of aggression above and look for ways to intervene in the early stages. If you are not comfortable dealing with a person who is aggressive, have a plan. Know whom you can ask for assistance in volatile situations. Is another manager or supervisor available? Does anyone in the office have experience and confidence in dealing with these types of situations? Know where your resources are and don’t be afraid to ask for help!

There are some additional signs that an employee may be at higher risk for workplace violence. These signs include:

• Mood swings
• Extreme sensitivity to criticism
• Intense need to control others
• A history of domestic violence and/or substance abuse
• History of violent behavior
• Physical intimidation or harassment
• Threatening statements
• Paranoid thoughts or delusions
• A fascination with firearms
• Poor social skills
• Contempt for authority figures, including managers or supervisors

Always remember that the EAP is available to help. If you have concerns about an employee’s behavior, please call Frank Horton Associates at 800-326-3864. EAP services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Download our Tips For Diffusing A Hostile Situation (PDF - 32 K). You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view or print this file.

Information for this article was taken from 1) “Preventing and Dealing with Workplace Violence,” EA Report Brown Bagger, April 2002, 2) “Warning Signs that an Employee May Be Prone to Violence,” EAP Advisor, 2003. Waukesha, WI: NEAS, Inc, and 3) “National Crime Victimization Survey: Violence in the Workplace, 1993-1999,” Bureau of Justice Statistics: Special Report, December 2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.