Workplace Violence Prevention

Workplace violence is the act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening behavior that occurs at the work site. It is a leading cause of workplace death in Wisconsin. In 2023, violence was involved in 13% of workplace deaths in Wisconsin.

Workplace violence ranges from threats and verbal abuse to physical assault and even homicide. Workplace violence can affect and involve anyone at that location, including employees, clients, customers and visitors. Strong policies and well-implemented procedures can reduce an organization's risk of workplace violence.

Types of workplace violence

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines four types of workplace violence:

• Criminal intent: Violence by a person with no other reason to visit the worksite who is committing a crime.
• Customer/client: Violence by a person receiving services, such as a customer, patient, student, inmate, or client.
• Worker-on-worker: Violence by an employee or former employee that affects another employee, including workers, managers, supervisors, student workers, interns, contractors, and volunteers.
• Personal relationship: Violence by a person who has a personal relationship with a worker.

Client victimization, when a client is harmed by someone who works for the organization, is also a concern for certain industries. Examples of client victimization could include a teacher harming a student, a nurse harming a patient, or a prison guard harming an inmate.

Researchers have also proposed another type of workplace violence that is driven by ideology. In this scenario, a person becomes violent in a workplace because of their own extreme religious, philosophical, or political beliefs.

Understanding the risk of workplace violence in Wisconsin

According to worker's compensation data, the Wisconsin industry sectors most at risk of workplace violence are the health care and social assistance, public administration, education, and arts/entertainment/recreation sectors. Data from the national Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals a risk of workplace violence in additional industries, including real estate/rental, accommodation/food services, and retail trade. Across all industries, the occupations most at risk in Wisconsin are:

• Health care support staff (nursing assistants, aides, orderlies)
• Health care practitioners/technicians (nurses, doctors, technicians)
• Educators (teachers, librarians)
• Personal care and service workers (barbers, stylists, personal care aides)
• Protective service workers (police officers, guards, firefighters).

Aside from industry and occupation, there are other factors that may elevate workers' risk of workplace violence:

• Organizational factors: employer does not focus on safety and security, insufficient staffing, inadequate training in de-escalation or safety, a lack of strong violence prevention plans and policies, or a failure to implement them.
• Environmental or situational factors: working late at night or in the pre-dawn hours, working in a high-crime area, working alone, in small numbers, or in an isolated area. Also, working in low lighting or with blocked lines of sight, working in community-based settings, or working in a place where alcohol is served.
• Job-related factors: contacting the public, handling money, guarding valuable property or possessions, working alone with a client, student, patient, or customer, being in a mobile workplace, delivering passengers, goods, or services, or working in a high-stress environment.
• Personal and behavioral factors: emotional instability, unhappy current or former workers, domestic or personal life issues, people with a history of violence or access to weapons. In healthcare, a patient may also have clinical risk factors for violence.

Workplace violence disproportionately affects women. According to Wisconsin's workers' compensation data, females are more than twice as likely to make a workplace violence claim (with 70% of claims) compared to males (with 29.6% of claims).

Preventing workplace violence

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) encourages employers to assess all worksites and implement any changes needed to reduce the likelihood of violence. Workplaces include locations owned by the employer and off-site locations where workers are assigned. Workplace violence can be reduced or eliminated with the careful implementation of a well-designed workplace violence prevention plan (WVPP). The WVPP should include a combination of engineering interventions, administrative interventions, and training. Examples include:

• Engineering interventions could be physical barriers, limited access, security systems, bright lighting, or alert systems.
• Administrative interventions may be policies and procedures, routine risk assessments, 'buddy system' or similar methods to prevent isolation, and reducing or eliminating cash handling. Administration can also provide staff with mobile phones or hand-held alarms or noise devices when they are at a worksite. Scheduling a safe number of well-trained staff is also an important administrative intervention.
• Training could include making sure workers know the warning signs of workplace violence, how to use de-escalation techniques, and what to do if there is an emergency. Staff should be trained never to enter a location where they feel unsafe.

Learn more and do more:

• Check out the United States Department of Labor's WVPP to see a strong example of how to keep workers safe.
• Use a template from California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health to create a WVPP for a non-healthcare setting (Word).
• Find guidance, training, and resources on OSHA's Workplace Violence Prevention web page.
• Follow OSHA's Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Health Care & Social Service Workers (PDF).
• Implement OSHA's Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs in Late-Night Retail Establishments (PDF).