The true scale of workplace violence

One in 12 workers have experienced threats, insults or even physical attacks in the workplace in the past year, according to a new study and a similar proportion (one in 13) feel unsafe at work.

Research co-authored by Dr Vanessa Gash (City St George’s, University of London) and Dr Niels Blom (University of Manchester), has and found that violence and threats in the workplace are much more prevalent than previously thought, with the problem being found in all industries, from finance to construction to the arts.

Workers in in public administration and facilities – civil servants, firemen, police officers, legal assistants, immigration officers – had the highest risks of workplace violence, followed by those in health, residential care, and social work.

People who had experienced workplace violence told the researchers they felt current statistics are only “the tip of the iceberg”. Many noted that while it was easier to report physical violence compared to insidious bullying, which was harder to prove, proper support after a violent incident was lacking, with some workers reporting their managers dismissed their claims or responded with annoyance or upset.

As most people are unable to simply leave their jobs, this dynamic of feeling trapped in a violent workplace only heightened their distress. Many workers continued to experience symptoms of poor mental health even a year after a violent incident.

“Violence in the workplace is more prevalent than we realised,” said lead author, Dr Vanessa Gash. “Around 5% of people in the vast majority of industrial sectors experience workplace violence and 7.7% of people in the UK feel unsafe at work. Often people dismiss fear, but our analysis shows a close fit between employees’ exposure to violence and their fear of violence, so their fear is often justified.

“The idea that you’d have to go into work and be scared at work is really, very problematic,” she added. “Most of us can avoid what we are scared of, we can avoid walking alone at night, but we can’t avoid going to work. Most of us need a job to pay our rent and our other expenses. Not only is workplace violence extremely unjust, but it is also extremely inefficient for the economy because we risk losing really good workers.”

Fellow study author Dr Niels Blom added: “Given the strong association between feeling unsafe at work and mental health, fear of workplace violence needs to be better recognised as a significant problem for workers alongside violence.”

The research was carried out with statistical analysis of data from the United Kingdom Household Panel Study (UKHLS), a nationally representative survey of approximately 40,000 households with mental health indicators, labour market status and violence indicators. This statistical analysis was supplemented with insights from workers with lived experience of workplace violence.

‘Workplace violence and fear of violence: an assessment of prevalence across industrial sectors and its mental health effects’ Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, DOI: 10.5271/sjweh.4230

The post "The true scale of workplace violence" appeared first on Management.Issues