ABSTRACT
Workplace violence is like an act of terrorism, except it is inside of a business organization. Workplace violence is when people problems go very wrong. Internal violence has always been present in the work environment, but the scale of it today exceeds the threats of street crime or acts of terror. According to the 2011 Census of Fatal Occupation Injuries, workplace violence was the cause of nearly 17% of workplace fatalities in the U.S. in 2011. The largest numbers of workplace homicide victims worked as rst-line sales, retail, and cashier supervisors, followed by law enforcement workers, managers, and protective agents. Current and former spouses or domestic partners were involved in 40% of the workplace killings. After September 11, 2001, concern for workplace security peaked as people feared a foreign terror threat to corporate America, but the greater threat was from violence of the workers within. From 1992 to 1996, there were over 2 million violent victimizations of workers on duty. The most common type of workplace violent crime was simple assault, with an estimated annual average of 1.5 million in 1996; and as of 2001, some 2 million American workers were victims of workplace violence each year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006). In addition, there were 396,000 annual aggravated assaults, 51,000 rapes, 84,000 robberies, and 1000 homicides in 1996. Current employees were 43.6% of the killers and another 22.5% were former
The Extent of the Problem .............................................................................................................809 What Can You Do? ......................................................................................................................... 812 Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 817 References ...................................................................................................................................... 817
employees. Domestic violence accounted for 21.4% of the workplace fatalities, while violence from the business clients accounted for the remaining balance of 12.5%. In a typical year, 723 workers are attacked, 16,400 workers are threatened, and 43,800 workers are harassed. About 70% of the victims were between ages of 25 years and 49 years. Fifty-six percent of the employers of workplace violence were private sector and 34% were state and local government workers. Annually, 330,000 retail workers became victims of workplace violence of which 61,000 were workers in convenience and liquor stores. More than 160,000 workers annually were victims in the medical occupations. In 2005, there were 564 workplace homicides, down from a high of 1080 in 1994, and 177 selfinicted deaths (which is typical in that the perpetrator will kill themselves after killing the fellow employees; Bureau of Justice Reports, 1998; Chavez, 2004; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006; see Figures 32.1 and 32.2).
