“Work is, by its very nature about violence – to the spirit as well as to the body. It is about ulcers as well as accidents, about shouting matches as well as fistfights, about nervous breakdowns as well as kicking the dog around. It is above all (or beneath all), about daily humiliations. To survive the day is triumph enough for the walking wounded among the great many of us.” Studs Terkel – Working1 (1974)
Regardless of how “workplace violence” is defined in your jurisdiction, the broader issue of occupational aggression has galvanized the attention of legislators, unions, employers and advocates concerned about the welfare of workers worldwide. As laudable as this may be from the occupational health and safety perspective, it is important to understand that research into the causes and impact of workplace violence is in its infancy. As a result, we need to be mindful that just because there is widespread concern about an issue, in this case workplace violence, it does not mean we have a complete understanding of the phenomenon understudy.
Workplace violence is both multi-faceted and highly complex, demanding a multidisciplinary approach drawing on the expertise from law, psychology, medicine, labour relations and policy development. Arriving at an understanding of the etiology of occupational aggression is admittedly only the first step in a much longer journey to eradicate this escalating occupational risk.
No one person or organization can claim absolute authority over workplace violence as an emerging issue. Nor can any publication provide simple answers to the multitude of questions, which plague this subject matter. My series of articles, of which this is the first, is an overview of work done by my colleagues, many of whom I have never met, yet I have become acquainted with them over the years because of their research and thoughtful commentary. My contribution is to weave some of their concepts and ideas together, mixed with my own, to present a coherent and realistic picture of workplace violence from both a global and regional perspective, ever mindful that I will likely fall short of such an ambitious goal.
In some jurisdictions workplace violence is barely recognized as an Occupational Health and Safety risk, while in other countries, research is expanding at an impressive rate; fueled by the efforts of international organizations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO); various NGOs, Human Rights advocates, Unions and various professional groups.
As a social phenomenon, workplace violence is exceedingly difficult to research given the multi-faceted complexities of the behaviour itself, but more so when we try to understand it within a broader geopolitical context. For many, the equation of workplace violence focuses on either the perpetrator or victim, in an attempt to understand what motivates or precipitates acts of aggression. In universities and facilities throughout the world, researchers from a number of disciplines are working tirelessly to understand the interpersonal aspects of violence. Some choose to focus on group conduct and the sociological factors that may lead to violent acts, while others confine their attention to intra-psychic factors. Generally speaking, most psychological or sociological research of workplace violence is rooted in a particular culture or country, with the exception of those few researchers who have ventured beyond their national borders to study violence from a multicultural perspective; such has been done by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Currently, we appear to have reached a “tipping point”; a term popularized by Malcolm Gladwell (2000) in his book of the same name2. According to Gladwell, a tipping point refers to the “culmination of effort and events which moves an issue to a new level of public awareness” – such as in the case with “workplace violence”.
Over the past decade, public interest in workplace violence has evolved in a steady, yet discontinuous pattern across most countries (Rayner, et al, 2002).3 “Waves of interest” are aroused in the wake of press accounts, which profile individual workers who have been the target of indignities, and in extreme cases, physical attacks leading to death. These tragic accounts prompt further investigation into the magnitude of the “problem” and the impact on innocent victims. What usually follows are preliminary research findings which generate additional publicity and public outrage, especially from union representatives, occupational health and safety specialists, as well as others concerned with the welfare of workers (Einarsen, 1998)4. According to Einarsen (2003)5, the activity and determination of victims, and their advocates, fuels public debate in the popular media, at conferences, on the internet, and at other community events. This surge of interest results in legislative pressure brought to bear on organizations to implement policies and procedures aimed at protecting workers from any number of indignities, including, violence, threats, harassment and more recently a call for a more “civil” workplace. These “waves of interest” which focus on workplace conduct, gather momentum, turning into a virtual “tsunami” of public concern which then transcends national boundaries, attracting a truly international audience.
Although any interest in occupational health and safety should be treated as a positive development; depending on the speed and trajectory of the discussion, it can result in a confusion of terms, and endless debates about what actions can, and should, to be taken to reduce the risks. Depending on the forum, we run the risk of allowing our “emotionality” to overtake and eclipse our ability to understand the very phenomenon under review. This visceral reaction is magnified when we include less tangible terms into our vernacular such as “bullying”; a concept, introduced by the late Swedish Psychologist Heinz Leymann in the 1970’s6 but only embraced by North Americans in the mid 1990’s. Confronted with his “cry to action”, Legislators have felt so compelled to respond to an outraged electorate that they have drafted legislation, which, in some cases is non-prescriptive, preferring to leave the interpretation and implementation to employers, trade unions and eventually the courts.
There are two critical issues, which I will discuss in future articles, they are (1) how do we “operationally” define workplace violence, and (2) what steps should we be taking to address it? While doing so, I will be directing your attention to pivotal books, articles, court cases and legal arguments which highlight how the concern about workplace violence has evolved in various jurisdictions, most notably Canada and the United States; where, I might add, the debate is decidedly different in terms of both tone and content. My task will be to help you refine, or arrive at, a comprehensive understanding of workplace aggression; one, based on qualitative and quantitative research; demonstrated best practices and thoughtful debate.
Suggested Reading:
Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace, S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, Dieter Zapf & Cary Cooper, Taylor & Francis, London/New York, 2004
Handbook of Workplace Violence, K. Kelloway, J. Barling & J. Hurrell, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, 2006
Next Article: Towards an Operational Definition of Workplace Violence
1 Terkel, S. (1974) Working. New York: Pantheon. p xi
2 M. Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2000
3 C. Rayner; H. Hoel & C. L. Cooper, (2002) Workplace Bullying. What we know, who is to blame, and what can we do? Taylor & Francis, London, 2002.
4 S. Einarsen, Bullying at work: The Norwegian lesson. In C. Rayner, M. Sheehan and M. Barker (eds), Bullying at Work, 1998 research update conference: Proceedings, Stafford University, Stafford
5 S. Einarsen,., H. Hoel, D. Zapf & C. Cooper, (eds.) Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice, Taylor & Francis, London, 2003, p. 5
6 H. Leymann, Vuxenmobbing- psykiskt våld I arbetslivet (Bullying – psychological violence in working life). Studentlitterature, Lund, 1996