What Is Workplace Violence?

There are many types of workplace violence.

Workplace violence includes discrimination, harassment, physical violence, workplace hazards, intimidation, and threatening behavior.

According to the OSHA, workplace violence can range from verbal abuse and threats to homicide. Who is at risk of suffering from these types of violence in the workplace? Anyone can be affected by violence in the workplace such as clients, applicants, employees, and visitors.

OSHA reports that almost 2 million American workers file reports of violence in the workplace each year. They also say that many cases go unreported.

OSHA lists these factors that increase the chances of American workers facing violence in the workplace include:

• Working night shifts
• Working in high crime areas
• Working with alcohol
• Public exchanges of money (such as customer service positions)

Eliminate or reduce the chances of workplace violence by creating HR policies that clearly state that violence of any sort is not tolerated. This policies on workplace violence should be stated in handbooks or manuals and repeated yearly in employee training courses.

Unfortunately, many small businesses don’t do this if they have less than 15 employees, since they have less than regulations to follow and likely don’t have a human resources employee.

To find out about your rights when it comes to violence in the workplace, visit OSHA by clicking here.