Violence in the Workplace

Violence in the Workplace

April 5, 2011

When you think of workplace violence, you tend to associate it with law enforcement. When you think of workplace violence, you think of jobs in law enforcement, such as police officers being called in to handle certain issues happening in the workplace. Unfortunately, workplace violence can exist at anywhere. Over the year’s workplace violence has been on the rise.  

There was a time when violence in the workplace was either very rare or non-existent. People were able to disagree and live with their differences without resorting to physical violence. That is no longer the case. Everywhere you turn around, every time you turn on the news, every time you read a paper, someone is being sued and/or arrested for some physical abuse that they have inflicted on someone in their working environment. The purpose of this paper is to educate employers and employees, as well as, make them aware of workplace violence, so that they may know how to prevent it.  Even though it can exist in any work environment, I will focus primarily on the workplace violence in the airport.

What is workplace violence? Workplace violence can be verbal or non verbal. According to the Business and Society Review Article, “Workplace violence can range from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and homicides and can occur at or outside the work environment” (Kirk & Franklin, 2003). Workplace violence includes homicide, rape, robbery, wounding, battering, physical attacks, kicking , biting, punching, spitting, scratching, squeezing, pinching, stalking, all harassment sexual and racial, bullying, mobbing, victimizing , intimidation, threats, ostracism, leaving offensive messages, aggressive posturing, rude gestures, hostile behavior, swearing, shouting and name calling (Bishop, 2006). Unfortunately many violent acts are not reported (Bishop, 2006); however it does tend manifests itself. Workplace violence is a growing concern...