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Preventing workplace aggression through a multi-actor perspective: bridging the gap between evidence and public
Roberta Fida1, Lowri Evans1, Sukhwinder Salh1
1https://ror.org/05j0ve876Aston Business School, Aston University, UK.
Summary
UK workplace aggression policies are fragmented and reactive, focusing on targets and post-incident responses. Prevention strategies for perpetrators and bystanders, and primary prevention, require strengthening to address workplace aggression effectively.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Public Policy
- Criminology
Background:
- Extensive research exists on workplace aggression, but regulatory frameworks for its prevention and management are under-examined.
- National policies provide legal duties and guidance on workplace aggression, yet conceptualization of prevention, actor responsibilities, and alignment with evidence remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically map UK policies on workplace aggression.
- To analyze how policies define aggression, structure monitoring, and distribute prevention strategies across perpetrators, targets, and bystanders using a multi-actor, multi-level framework.
Main Methods:
- Systematic policy mapping review of UK statutory and non-statutory documents.
- Analysis of 57 eligible policies screened from 8,413 documents.
- Application of a multi-actor, multi-level prevention framework.
Main Results:
- A fragmented policy landscape with definitional inconsistencies and uneven monitoring guidance was identified.
- Policies show limited attention to digital aggression and an imbalanced prevention portfolio, concentrating on targets and post-incident responses.
- Primary prevention targeting perpetrators and bystander-focused/tertiary strategies are underdeveloped, indicating a reactive policy orientation.
Conclusions:
- Current UK policies on workplace aggression present a fragmented and predominantly reactive approach.
- A multi-actor framework can diagnose prevention gaps and guide policymakers and organizations in strengthening prevention strategies and implementation.
- There is a need to enhance primary prevention targeting perpetrators and develop more robust bystander and tertiary prevention strategies.
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