Workplace violence mainly consists of psychologically and physically damaging actions that occur while on duty or in the workplace. Consequently, it is also a threat of violence against workers. Moreover, workplace violence can take place at or outside the workplace, and it ranges from verbal abuse and threats to homicide and physical assaults, and it is becoming one of the leading causes of job-related deaths (Tenley et al., 2019). Workplace violence is a growing concern among organizations and employers across the globe.
Workplace violence is increasing each year. For instance, the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) indicate that nearly 2 million workers across the United States are victims of workplace violence, and the number is increasing each year (Courcy et al., 2019). Additionally, the agency estimates that the economic cost of workplace violence is more than $55 billion (Babiarczyk et al., 2020). Primarily, workplace violence can occur anywhere within the organization, and no individual is immune. Some of the most vulnerable in workplace violence are workers who exchange money with the public and workers who deliver goods and services.
Examples of Employee Workplace Violence!
The workplace primarily should a place where employees can feel safe and be productive. However, workplace incidences occur regularly across the world, and they can take place at any time. Many people think that workplace violence only involves physical assault. On the contrary, workplace violence is a much bigger and broader issue affecting many organizations worldwide (Wu et al., 2014). Workplace violence involves any act in which an individual is assaulted, intimated, threatened, or abused in his or her place of employment. Some of the examples of workplace violence include pranks, property damage, sabotage, theft, psychological trauma, rape, murder, verbal abuse, rumors, swearing, arguments, vandalism, pushing, physical theft, anger-related incidents, and arson (La Duke 2019).
Causes of Workplace Violence
Violence in the workplace has many roots, and an employee can feel threatened when he or she finds out his job might be at risk. Human resources can be one of the leading causes of workplace violence as it deals with people's employment, promotion, demotion, and contracts (Courcy et al., 2019). Some of the causes of workplace violence include job layoffs or being fired. When an individual is fired, he will direct his or her anger to the human resource department and its employee. Therefore, he or she might start abusing or threatening individuals who she or he might think they were responsible for his dismissal (Tenley et al., 2019). Secondly, demotion, when employees are demoted, they will become agitated, and they will direct their anger to the human resource department employees for the troubles and tubulations. Other factors might include prejudice, stress, conflict, and illegal discrimination (La Duke 2019).
Impact of Workplace Violence on The Employees, Managers, Departments, and the Company
Workplace violence affects employees, managers, departments, and the company at large. Employees can be the worst hit by workplace violence. Exposure to workplace violence for employees can lead to health problems, increased absence from work, increase eagerness to change jobs, and decreasing satisfaction with work (Babiarczyk et al., 2020). Moreover, employees can decide to terminate their contract and sue the company. The company loses in terms of capital and the loss of human resources (Viitasara & Menckel, 2002). When employees miss work due to workplace violence, the company will not meet its target that day, and it ends up losing a lot in terms of profits.
Consequently, employees who decided to terminate their contracts due to workplace violence and decide to sue the company will result in high legal fees and bad public image. Consequently, the company might experience a higher sickness absence rate, reduced job satisfaction, and a high turnover rate (Wu et al., 2014). The impact on the department included reduced job satisfaction, a high absence rate, and lower motivation on the department employees (Viitasara & Menckel, 2002). The manager has the responsibility of ensuring that the organization is running well and the impacts he or she might experience stress due to high cases of violence, legal action, and property damage.
The Role or Responsibility of Immediate Managers / HR Professionals in Dealing with Workplace Violence and Mitigating its Negative Impacts
Human resource professionals are the main leaders in workplace prevention programs and initiatives. Primarily, they have a special duty and role in advancing proper prevention initiatives and programs within the firm (Viitasara & Menckel, 2002). The human resource professionals develop, enforce, and interpret organizational policies (Babiarczyk et al., 2020). Consequently, they are also responsible for handling promotion, hiring, termination, and zero-tolerance protocols. Moreover, human resource individuals are held accountable for disregarding and overlooking evidence of criminal convictions and threats uncovered in the hiring process.
Best Practices or Policies / Recommendations for Creating A Safe Work Environment for All Employees
Organizations and employers have the responsibility of ensuring that they provide a safe working environment for all employees (Wu et al., 2014). Some of the policies for ensuring a safe working place include:
- Analyze your workplace
- Create a supportive environment
- Offer communication and empathy training
- Establish a clear workplace violence policy
- Commit to a non-violent workplace
- Train employees to recognize warning signs
- Create an action plan, share it with employees, and practice
