Workplace violence at government sites

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Workplace Safety
• Criminology

Background:

• Workplace violence poses a significant threat to employee well-being and organizational productivity.
• Assessing the prevalence and trends of workplace violence is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey documented incidents of workplace violence within a large government agency and its contractors.
• To analyze trends in the severity and frequency of reported violence over time.

Main Methods:

• Conducted surveys of occupational medicine professionals and human resource departments across multiple agency locations.
• Collected data on reported incidents, including type of violence, weapon involvement, and time of occurrence.
• Utilized a Cochran-Armitage trend test to analyze changes in incident severity over time.

Main Results:

• 20 occupational medicine respondents reported 74 incidents; 16 HR respondents reported 96 additional incidents.
• Nearly 30% of incidents involved weapons, with 11 involving firearms.
• A statistically significant increase in the proportion of "very serious" incidents (physical assault, threats with weapons, murder, suicide, stalking) over time was observed (P=0.026).

Conclusions:

• The study indicates a concerning trend of increasing workplace violence, particularly severe incidents, within the surveyed government agency.
• Findings highlight the need for enhanced safety protocols and violence prevention programs.
• Despite data limitations, the observed trends warrant further investigation and proactive intervention.