Workplace Violence

Dealing With Workplace Violence in Your Business

Though commonly considered to be acts of physical assault, workplace violence is actually a problem of much greater range. Workplace violence consists of any behavior in which a person is threatened, intimidated, abused, or assaulted at or relating to his or her employment. It may include such acts as:

Workplace violence doesn't necessarily need to occur at the workplace itself. It can happen at any business-related functions that occur off-site, such as conferences, social events, and trade shows, or away from work altogether, such as in the case of threatening phone calls.

There are many elements of a workplace - such as its processes and interaction styles - that can place employees at greater risk of workplace violence. Such elements may include:

Occupational groups that tend to be at higher risk of workplace violence than others include:

To recognize if a place of work is at greater risk of workplace violence, perform an investigation that includes the following:

To prevent workplace violence, there are many efforts that can be made. Among the most effective is the establishment of a workplace violence prevention program which should include a written policy. This policy should be specific and clear, and should be continuously updated. Make certain that every employee has read and understood the policy, and that any additions are clearly explained. Every employee should be provided with his or her own copy, and each person should sign to state that they have read and understood it. The policy should also provide employees with instructions regarding what they should do if they are victims of workplace violence.

Prevention is among the best things that can be done to deal with workplace violence, but if it does occur, make sure that there is a solid policy in place for dealing with it quickly and decisively.

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