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Workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site. It ranges from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide. It can affect and involve employees, clients, customers and visitors.

Types of Workplace Violence

Workplace violence can be categorized into four types:

1. Criminal Intent: In this type, the perpetrator has no legitimate relationship to the business or its employees and is usually committing a crime in conjunction with the violence (robbery, shoplifting, trespassing).
2. Customer/Client: The perpetrator has a legitimate relationship with the business and becomes violent while being served by the business.
3. Worker-on-Worker: The perpetrator is an employee or past employee of the business who attacks or threatens another employee(s) or past employee(s) in the workplace.
4. Personal Relationship: The perpetrator usually does not have a relationship with the business but has a personal relationship with the intended victim.

Prevention

Prevention of workplace violence involves several steps:

1. Risk Assessment: Identifying jobs or locations with the greatest risk.
2. Prevention Program: Developing a written program that includes measures to protect employees.
3. Training: Training all employees on the risk factors and prevention measures.
4. Recordkeeping: Keeping accurate records of incidents to help identify patterns and areas of concern.

See Also

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• Occupational Health
• Workplace Bullying
• Workplace Harassment