Workplace Violence

832 Words2 Pages

What is Workplace Violence? Any extent of violent disruption in the workplace, whether it is physical violence, harassment, or threats, is considered workplace violence. Workplace violence can be seen anywhere—from the office to even a hospital. Not only does it affect the employees, but also customers and visitors as well. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), nearly two million workers in the United States have reported workplace violence annually (“Workplace Violence,” n.d.). Anyone can be targeted by workplace violence and everyone is susceptible. An article in Business Management Daily discussed the four ways the workplace has become more dangerous: improper use of hiring methods, workplace bullying, …show more content…

The bullying can be both verbal and nonverbal, through examples like cyberbullying. Many employees can be harassed through email, phone, and social media. For instance, say an employee in a company is disabled. One day Mr. Joe Schmo goes to his social media site while off work and posts discriminatory comments on the employee’s disfigurement. As more comments and posts on the employee’s disfigurement gets shared, the more likely it is that the harassment will reach the workplace. In most cases this should be resolved by human resources, but unfortunately there are cases where employers will either ignore the issue or forget to resolve …show more content…

Most workplaces currently have a “zero tolerance” policy for workplace violence. Human resources should be responsible for having clearly written paperwork that outlines workplace policies so that all employees are aware. Not only should there be policies clearly written, but there should be steps the employee can follow to ensure that workplace violence does not happen to them. According to a recent survey, 40 percent of employers in the US today have developed an emergency response protocol. Thirty-eight percent have conducted training sessions that taught their employees on how to recognize and respond to violence in the workforce (‘Zero Tolerance’ for Workplace Violence,

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