New forms of workplace violence on the rise worldwide

Jun 20, 2006 4:03 PM

Violence at work, ranging from bullying and mobbing, threats by psychologically unstable co-workers, sexual harassment and homicide, is increasing worldwide and has reached epidemic levels in some countries, according to the International Labour Office (ILO).
The global cost of this workplace violence is enormous, costing untold millions of dollars in losses in some countries due to causes including absenteeism and sick leave, the study says.
It also notes that professions once regarded as sheltered from workplace violence such as teaching, social services, library services and healthcare are being exposed to increasing acts of violence, in both developed and developing countries.
The findings are based on a new study entitled "Violence at Work, Third edition," by Vittorio Di Martino, an international expert on stress and workplace violence, and Duncan Chappell, past president of the New South Wales Mental Health Review, Australia, and the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal, United Kingdom.
"Bullying, harassment, mobbing and allied behaviors can be just as damaging as outright physical violence," the authors say. "Today, the instability of many types of jobs places huge pressures on workplaces, and we're seeing more of these forms of violence."
In addition, the authors also address growing concerns about terrorism, calling it "one of the new faces of workplace violence -- contributing to the already-volatile mix of aggressive acts taking place on the job."
In the United States, however, where homicide is the third-leading cause of death at work, the number of workplace murders has declined in recent years, with a similar trend for non-fatal assaults. The report says women represent approximately 61 percent of all victimized workers because of their concentration in jobs considered high-risk for assault.
Growing awareness of the need to tackle workplace violence has spawned the development of new and effective prevention strategies. The study highlights a number of "best practice" examples from local and national governments, enterprises and trade unions from around the world that have successfully implemented "zero tolerance" policies and violence-prevention training programs.
In fact, many countries have now explicitly recognized violence in their national occupational health and safety legislation. Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Poland and Sweden have recently adopted new legislation or amended existing laws and regulations to address violence at work.
For more information, visit www.ilo.org/publ

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