WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

Workplace Violence

Executive Summary

Workplace violence has distinct consequences for business leaders and governmental officials. It has been found to affect worker morale and corporate productivity. Although rare overall, workplace homicide was the second leading cause of fatal occupational injuries in 1994. The approximately one million incidents per year produce a dimension of workplace insecurity that adds to other business worries. At the same time, the public needs to realize that the media has sensationalized workplace violence. Of all homicides that occur in any given year, workplace homicide occurs the least. According to the National Crime Victimization Survey only 1 in 650 workplace incidents involve death.

Workplace Violence

Introduction

The paper seeks to discusses workplace violence within the context of current practices using the sources mentioned in the list of references. Workplace violence has become a common occurrence in workplaces across the world. The types of violence range from simple assaults to violent homicides committed against workers. Estimates from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) suggest that nonfatal assaults cost 876,000 lost workdays and $16 million in lost wages each year.

People or Groups that might Benefit from the Study

This study will benefit students and researchers tremendously.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to discuss workplace violence in the context of historical and current practices using the sources mentioned in the list of references.

Workplace Violence: A Discussion

Workplace-violence incidence can be categorized based on victim-offender relationships or by the actual type of harm inflicted on victims. Researchers at the University of Iowa (2000) have described workplace violence in terms of the victim-offender relationships (Bruce, 2002). Based upon their categorization, they cite four general types of workplace violence.

Type I workplace violence refers to those crimes that are committed as part of a broader criminal act. The offender would have absolutely no personal relationship with the victim. As an illustration, consider instances where offenders harm workers in the process of robberies or other thefts. According to the Iowa researchers, 85 percent of workplace homicides are the result of these sorts of interactions (Bruce, 2002).

Type II workplace violence incidents involve situations in which the offender has a business relationship with the workplace, usually in the form of a customer, consumer, or client. The offender becomes violent during the transaction, and there is generally no other crime committed during these interactions (Barling, 1996).

Type III incidents refer to those situations in which the offender is a worker in the business. Workers could be violent against fellow workers, their bosses, or their customers. Less than one in 15 of workplace fatalities are committed by employees of a business.

Type IV incidents refer to those that are committed by offenders who have no work relationship with the victims. Consider as an example an offender who commits a violent offense in the workplace against his girlfriend or wife. In Workplace Violence: A Continuum from Threat to Death, criminologists Mittie Southerland and her colleagues argue that offenders commit domestic violence in the workplace for two ...