Overview

Violence in the Workplace

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has found that an average of 20 workers are murdered each week in the United States. In addition, an estimated 1 million workers -18,000 per week - are victims of nonfatal workplace assaults each year.

Homicide is the second leading cause of death on the job, second only to motor vehicle crashes. Homicide is the leading cause of workplace death among females. However, men are at three times higher risk of becoming victims of workplace homicides than women. Homicide is also the leading cause of death for workers under 18 years of age. The majority of workplace homicides are robbery related crimes (71%) with only 9% committed by coworkers or former coworkers. Additionally, 76% of all workplace homicides are committed with a firearm.

Most nonfatal workplace assaults occur in service settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, and social service agencies. Forty eight percent of nonfatal assaults in the workplace are committed by a health care patient. Nonfatal workplace assaults result in more than 876,000 lost workdays and $16 million in lost wages. Nonfatal assaults occur among men and women at an almost equal rates.

The circumstances of workplace violence differ significantly from those of other types of homicides. While most workplace homicides are robbery-related, less than 10% of homicides in the general population occur during a robbery. Additionally, in the general population about 50% of all murder victims were related to their assailants whereas the majority of workplace homicides are believed to occur among people who do not know each other. These differences call for unique prevention measures targeted specifically to the workplace.