Violence in the workplace has become more prominent in the national news in recent years. Whether disgruntled former employees who return to exact revenge on a company or unhappy domestic partners, there has been an upswing in the number of individuals who are taking their personal grievances public through violence on the job. The federal government offers few guidelines and even fewer regulations which might protect employees in the workplace; state gun control laws vary widely and often make it possible (and legal) for employees to carry weapons while on the job. Increasingly, companies are turning to their own policies and procedures regarding workplace safety in order to protect themselves and their employees. This research examines violence in the workplace, including the regulatory environment and steps which companies can use to prevent violence.
Few employers can ignore the issue of violence in the workplace. Between 1980 and 1993, more than 1,000 individuals were killed each year on the job. More than two million workers reported being physically attacked on the job in 1992; medical costs associated with these attacks totaled more than $13.5 billion. Violence in the workplace, which can be broadly defined to include threats, harassment and physical attacks, may affect as many as one quarter of American workers (Bowman and Zigmond, 1997, p. 289). The issue has, in short, significant costs to society both in direct monetary outlays as well as in lost productivity and lower employee morale.
Defining violence in the workplace can be done narrowly, to include only physical assaults, or may include a broad definition which encompasses not only physical attacks, but also threats and harassment. In the 12 month period between July 1992 and July 1993, more than two million people were attacked, more than six million were threatened, and more than 16 million were harassed. Of the physical attacks, the majority (75 pe...