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Workplace Violence

Workplace violence is an action at a work facility that, in the opinion of a reasonable person, constitutes a threat of harm to a person or damage to property at a work facility; or action that results in intentional infliction of physical harm to a person or actual damage to property at a work facility, and includes intimidating or harassing behavior.

What is workplace bullying?

Workplace Bullying is the deliberate repeated, hurtful verbal mistreatment of a person (the Target) by a cruel perpetrator (the bully). The vast majority of bullies (over 80%) are bosses, some are co-workers and a few bully up the ladder. Male bullies represent 50% of all bullies. When a Target is female, 46% of the time her bully is also female. Bullying, general harassment, is more prevalent than its more famous and illegal special varieties--sexual harassment and racial discrimination. A recent reliable study estimates that approximately 1 in 5 U.S. workers has experienced destructive bullying in the past year.

Employer Responsibility

Murder is the leading cause of OSHA guidelines that state, "Employers can be cited if violence is a recognized hazard in their workplaces and they do nothing to prevent it. Therefore, if the company has received notice that a former partner has threatened to harm an employee or has made attempts to harm an employee at work, the company will have a duty to protect that employee.

The Facts

An estimated 1 million workers are assaulted annually in U.S. workplaces. Most of these assaults occur in service settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, and social service agencies.

An average of 20 workers are murdered each week in the United States. The majority of these murders are robbery-related crimes.

Factors that place workers at risk for violence in the workplace include:

  • interacting with the public
  • exchanging money
  • delivering services or goods
  • working late at night or during early morning hours
  • working alone
  • guarding valuables or property
  • dealing with violent people or volatile situations