Chapter51-ViolenceVIOLENCEINTHEWORKPLACELeonJ.WarshawViolenceispervasiveinmodernsocietyandappearstobeescalating.Entirelyapartfromrepression,warsandterroristactivities,themediadailyreportinbannerheadlinesonthemayheminflictedbyhumansuponeachotherin“civilized”aswellasmoreprimitivecommunities.Whethertherehasbeenarealincreaseorthissimplyrepresentsmorethoroughreportingisarguable.Afterall,violencehasbeenafeatureofhumaninteractionsinceprehistoricages.Nevertheless,violencehasbecomeoneoftheleadingcausesofdeathinmodernindustrialsocieties—insomesegmentsofthecommunityitistheleadingcauseofdeath—anditisincreasinglybeingrecognizedasapublichealthproblem.Inescapably,itfindsitswayintotheworkplace.From1980to1989,homicidewasthethirdleadingcauseofdeathfrominjuryinNorthAmericanworkplaces,accordingtodatacompiledbytheNationalTraumaticOccupationalFacilitiesSurveillanceSystem(NIOSH1993a).Duringthisperiod,occupationalhomicidesaccountedfor12%ofdeathsfrominjuryintheworkplace;onlymotorvehiclesandmachinesaccountedformore.By1993,thatfigurehadrisento17%,arateof0.9per100,000workers,nowsecondonlytomotorvehicledeaths(ToscanoandWindau1994).Forwomenworkers,itremainedtheleadingcauseofwork-relateddeath,althoughtherate(0.4deathsper100,000)waslowerthanthatformen(1.2deathsper100,000)(Jenkins1995).Thesedeaths,however,representonlythe“tipoftheiceberg”.Forexample,in1992,about22,400Americanworkerswereinjuredseriouslyenoughinnon-fatalassaultsintheworkplacetorequiredaysawayfromworktorecuperate(ToscanoandWindau1994).Reliableandcompletedataarelacking,butitisestimatedthatforeverydeaththerehavebeenmanythousands—perhaps,evenhundredsofthousands—ofinstancesofviolenceintheworkplace.Initsnewsletter,Unison,thelargeBritishunionofhealthcareandgovernmentalserviceworkers,haslabelledviolenceas“themostthreateningriskfacedbymembersatwork.Itistheriskwhichismostlikelytoleadtoinjury.Itcanbringunmanageablelevelsofoccupationalstresswhichdamagespersonalesteemandthreatenspeople’sabilitytocontinueonthejob”(Unison1992).Thisarticlewillsummarizethecharacteristicsofviolenceintheworkplace,thekindsofpeopleinvolved,itseffectsonthemandtheiremployers,andthestepsthatmaybetakentopreventorcontrolsucheffects.DefinitionofViolenceThereisnoconsensusonthedefinitionofviolence.Forexample,RosenbergandMercy(1991)includeinthedefinitionbothfatalandnonfatalinterpersonalviolencewherephysicalforceorothermeansisusedbyonepersonwiththeintentofcausingharm,injuryordeathtoanother.ThePanelontheUnderstandingandControlofViolentBehaviorconvenedbytheUSNationalAcademyofSciencesadoptedthedefinitionofviolenceas:behavioursbyindividualsthatintentionallythreaten,attemptorinflictphysicalharmonothers(ReissandRoth1993).Thesedefinitionsfocusonthreateningorcausingphysicalharm.However,theyexcludeinstancesinwhichverbalabuse,harassmentorhumiliationandotherformsofpsychologicaltraumamaybethesoleharmtothevictimandwhichmaybenolessdevastating.Theyalsoexcludesexualharassment,whichmaybephysicalbutwhichisusuallyentirelynon-physical.InthenationalsurveyofAmericanworkersconductedbytheNorthwesternNationalLifeInsuranceCompany,theresearchersseparatedviolentactsinto:harassment(theactofcreatingahostileenvironmentthroughunwelcomewords,actionsorphysicalcontactsnotresultinginphysicalharm),threats(expressionsofanintenttocausephysicalharm),andphysicalattacks(aggressionresultinginaphysicalassaultwithorwi...
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