Over the past decade, workplace violence has continued to gain momentum, with incidents escalating in both frequency and intensity (Johnson 8z Indvik, 1994). Workplace violence has become an important issue for corporate America in the 1990s. Bosses, coworkers, spouses, and supervisors are being murdered on the job at an ever-increasing rate. Corporate layoffs, downsizing, availability of firearms, and media attention are just some of the factors that seem to be fueling this trend.Criminologists now identify workplace homicide as the fastest growing category of murder in America (OBoyle, 1992). Targets of this violence are company employees, from management to front-line staff members (Johnson & Indvik, 1994). Perpetrators come from within and outside the organization and include disgruntled former workers, frustrated employees, angry customers, and estranged or jealous spouses who bring their rage to the worksite.During the 1980s, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that an average of 15 people were murdered on the job each week, totaling approximately 800 deaths a year (Barker, 1994). A far greater number of workers are being physically attacked, threatened, or harassed each year (see Appendix A, this volume).This phenomenon comes with a hefty price tag. The National Safe Workplace Institute estimates the average cost to employers for a single episode of workplace violence is $250,000, which encompasses lost work time, posttrauma interventions, and legal expenses (Anfuso, 1994). Additionally, an increasing number of negligence suits have been filed against companies who failed to take appropriate and reasonable action t o prevent violent acts from occurring. In the case of wrongful deaths, monetary awards assigned by juries to victims' families average $2.2 million (Weisberg, 1994). Currently, workplace liability is the most rapidly expanding area of civil litigation. The courts have made it virtually impossible for companies to ignore their responsibility to keep workers safe.
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