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11 Emp. Resp. & Rts. J. 1 (1998)

handle is hein.journals/emprrj11 and id is 1 raw text is: Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, Vol. 11, No. 1, 1998 Violence in the Workplace-A Review with Recommendations Robert J. Paul' and James B. Townsend1 Workplace violence is a serious, growing and costly problem for American business and industry. In spite of the scope of the problem managers have been slow to respond, in fact appear to be in a state of denial. Profiles of both perpetuators and victims of workplace violence have been developed, but these profiles are so inclusive as to include almost everyone. Many causes have been recognized, most of which are related to stress. The courts offer only limited assistance; in fact, some laws limit tests and measures that might help identify violent employment candidates and employees. There are recommended courses of action intended to prevent workplace violence but little assurance that they can prevent it. Most of these approaches address the root causes of violence by focusing on stress. KEY WORDS: workplace violence; employee violence; preventing workplace violence; employer roles in workplace violence. INTRODUCTION The current era has often been called the age of litigation because of our propensity to engage in legal action. It appears that it is also an age of rage, and American businesses are caught in the crossfire (McCune, 1994). Disgruntled em- ployees, customers, acquaintances, spouses, robbers and terrorists are increasingly turning to violence as a way of expressing their anger (Benismon, 1994). More than 2 million Americans were physically attacked in the workplace during the 12 months ending July 1993. Another 6 million were threatened, and yet another 16 million were harassed (study by Northwestern National Life Insurance Co., Minneapolis, MN). Homicide now ranks as the leading cause of occupational death from injury among women (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) and is the third leading cause of death in the workplace among all workers (Smith, 1994). The Center for Disease Control and Prevention statistics show that during the 1980s, the United States averaged 760 on-the-job murders annually (Dunkel, 1994). 'Department of Management, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66502. 0892-7S45/9/300OOOI1S1.t0iO C 1998 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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