Aggreression in the working envirnoment: a cross-sectoral survey in Croatia

Workplace aggression constitutes a serious problem in individual, organizational and social cause-effect relations. The aim is to determine the prevalence of such aggression on the pilot sample to test the appropriateness of the research design for the further conduct of a national survey on the specified topic.

The sample included 113 employees in the city of Split, deployed within the public, profit and non-profit sectors. The research was conducted through an online survey. The questionnaire consisted of pre-coded questions on the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents and their perception of interrelations with colleagues and clients/customers of products and services, exposure to various forms of physical and verbal aggression and the frequency of somatic and psychical problems caused by the workplace conditions and interrelations in this context.

Although participants did not suffer direct physical assault from associates, and only two of them have experienced it from clients/customers, they emphasize the frequency of psychical workplace abuse through more subtle forms of physical and verbal aggression.The training of employees at all hierarchical levels is required for the better understanding of the roles of their associates and clients/customers. Its effects strengthen their mutual respect, tolerance and solidarity. In this way, the interrelations that many respondents do not see as good or excellent can be improved, hence improving the prevention of aggression.

The study of aggression should include a broader social context. Aggression tends towards a quantitative and qualitative expansion in different environments. When individuals seek some benefit for themselves in a dubious way, while neglecting others, aggressive acts are foreseeable. Therefore, Croatian society has the foundation for aggressive behavior, as it is unable to make the consensual practice of a moral, political and economic recovery.