The Evolution of Global Workplace Violence Research

This is the third in a series of segments which together comprise a larger paper presented at the  Ninth World Conference on Injury Prevention & Safety Promotion, Merida, Mexico, focusing on workplace violence from a “global” perspective. In its entirety, this paper examines the contributing factors of workplace abuse which plague both developed and developing nations.

The formal study of workplace violence is a relatively new endeavor rooted in Scandinavia in the early 1980’s.  The late Swedish Psychologist Heinz Leymann, working as a “family therapist” in the 1970’s, expanded his professional interest in interpersonal conflict to include the workplace. German was Leymann’s first language; Swedish his second however he labeled the phenomenon he discovered with the English term “mobbing” and wrote the first Swedish book on the topic in 1986, entitled Mobbing – Psychological Violence at Work[1]. Although Leymann is credited as being the grandfather of interest in the topic of workplace violence, it is important to note that American Psychiatrist Carroll Brodsky had published an extensive report on the issue of “bullying” at work in 1976, called the Harassed Worker[2] As was the case, Brodsky’s work went largely unrecognized due to a lack of professional interest.

 Over the next two decades, Leymann’s observations and theories about workplace “Mobbing” and related behaviours spread across Europe and beyond, catching the interest of academics (Einarsen 1996[3], 2000[4]; Ege, 1996[5]; Niedl, 1995[6], Kile, 1990[7]), contemporary writers (Field, 1996[8], Adams, 1992[9]) and Unions (UNISON, 1997[10]). The issue gained momentum in 1992, with the publication of Andrea Adams’s book, Bullying at Work[11] coupled with her documentary on BBC Radio. This placed the issue firmly on the UK agenda, sparking widespread interest from workers who now had words and phrases to describe their own experience. From here awareness radiated out from Scandinavia to other countries such as Austria (Kirchler & Lang, 1998[12]; Niedl, 1995[13]), The Netherlands (Hubert & van Veldhoven, 2001[14]), Hungary (Kauscek & Simon, 1995[15]), Italy (Ege, 1996[16]) and as far away as Australia (McCarthy et al., 1996[17]).

 Interestingly, the study of workplace violence had little traction in North America until late 1990’s as a result of competing interests; however rapid gains have been made in the past decade within both the academic fields (Barling, et al, 2006[18], Keashly & Jagatic, 2003[19]) and popular literature (Namie & Namie, 2000[20], Futterman, 2004[21]).

 Although interest in workplace violence has grown considerably in recent years particularly within the developed world, data remains allusive in developing countries. This is beginning to change, as workplace violence begins to emerge as a significant social policy issue, fuelled by public concern. Research into the issue of workplace violence is concentrated in the more developed countries of Europe, adding to the gap between European countries and developing countries. In the absence of specific and comprehensive research, it is difficult, if not impossible, to compare the experience of different countries. Additionally, some governments do not view workplace violence as being a legislative priority and therefore there is no mechanism to report violent incidences (Wynne, et al, 2005).[22] 

 Published data regarding workplace violence in developing countries can be frequently found in human rights literature, particularly the rights associated with trade union activities and the freedom of association. In addition, there is much commentary on the rights of workers to a safe workplace, focusing particularly on migrant workers who represent a highly marginalized and exploited group, both in developing and developed nations. A third and substantial source of information is found in the human rights literature which focuses on sexual abuse, primarily directed at women (Chappell & Di Martino, 2006)[23].    

 Evidence to date suggests that workplace violence in developing countries is a tertiary issue when compared to more pressing problems such as hunger, drought and war.  As a result of these competing interests, the “under reporting” of workplace violence seems to be the norm rather than the exception. In spite of this challenge, credible research is emerging to suggest that developing countries have a serious problem regarding violence.

 For example, a recently released report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), noted that women, migrants and children continue to be vulnerable to abuse in the workplace. In Malaysia, 11,851 rape and molestation cases at the workplace were reported between 1997 and May 2001. Widespread sexual harassment and abuse were major concerns in South Africa, Ukraine, Kuwait and Hong Kong, China, among others.

 In South Africa, workers in the health care sector bear the brunt of workplace violence, according to the ILO study. Over one 12-month period, their survey showed 9 per cent of those employed in the private health sector and up to 17 per cent of those in the public sector experienced physical violence. (ILO, 2000)[24]

 Although developing countries may be more aware of the issues, they face their own set of unique hurdles in arriving at a fuller understanding of workplace violence. They are:

•  In many countries workplace violence falls outside the scope of health and safety requirements and is therefore not reported.
•  In some jurisdictions only fatalities resulting from violence are recorded thereby omitting many incidents that are considered violent.
•  Many employers do not have mechanisms or procedures in place to record violence incidents.
•  In many cases accident procedures do not record emotional or psychological conditions caused by threats of violence or exposure to threatening behaviour.
•  Employers are frequently hesitant to report violence outside their organization fearful that this would tarnish their reputation.

 Although researching workplace violence may be discouraging, the growing awareness that is emerging has prompted many countries to develop innovative prevention programs. The ILO study highlights a number of “best practice” examples from local and national governments, private organizations and trade unions from around the world that have successfully implemented “zero tolerance” polices and violence-prevention training programs. As a counter-balance to those countries which have yet to acknowledge or act on the issue of workplace violence, there are many countries which now explicitly recognized violence in their national occupational health and safety legislation. Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Poland and Sweden have recently adopted new legislation or amended existing laws and regulations to address violence at work.

 Although the evidence about workplace violence may still be limited, anecdotal and inconsistently collected from a global perspective, the issue continues to garner attention in both developing and developed countries. Each year brings new research, moving the international community closer to a global standard of workplace conduct.