Current Intelligence Bulletin 57. Violence in the Workplace: Risk Factors andPrevention Strategies

摘要

A review of fatal and nonfatal violence in the workplace was presented in aneffort to focus future research on prevention. Workplace violence has contributed substantially to occupational injury and death. The second leading cause of occupational injury and death is currently homicide. A weekly average 20 murders and 18,000 assaults on workers have been reported. Certain occupational settings have demonstrated clusters of workplace violence. These included the retail trade and service industries. The highest risk workplace homicides has been identified for taxi drivers. Health care, community services and retail workers have been identified as being at increased risk of nonfatal assaults. Risk factors for workplace violence were discussed. These included dealing with the public, exchanging money, and delivery of services or goods. The development and implementation of cash handling policies, physical separation of workers from customers, good lighting, security devices, escort services, and employee training were discussed as prevention strategies for minimizing the risk of workplace violence. Other factors associated with effective workplace violence prevention programs were discussed. The author recommends that all workers and employers assess risk factors in their workplaces and take appropriate actions to reduce such risks.