By Sonja Elcic and Bhakti Karkare
According to the National Safety Council (2022), assault is the fourth leading cause of workplace deaths. Injury Facts, reported in 2020 that 20,050 workplace injuries and 392 fatalities were a result of assaults. Industries like healthcare, service providers, and education are at higher risk of workplace violence than other industries (NSC, 2022). However, workplace violence can occur in any workplace. In modern workplaces, violence presents itself not just physically but also mentally. Whether mental or physical, violence is detrimental to the long-term success and employer brand of any organization. There are several factors contributing to employee stress and violence in the workplace. Employers’ have legal and ethical obligations to prevent stress and violence in the workplace.
Just like violence and stress show up in unique ways, there are many ways to prevent stress and violence in the workplace. In this article, we define stress and violence and how they can be prevented. We also discuss the legal and ethical obligations that organizations must keep their employees safe.
LEGAL AND ETHICAL EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS
Employers have a legal and ethical obligation to prevent stress and violence in the workplace. They should know the signs of stress and violence and act accordingly. Brakel (1998) stated that the pure threat of legal liability should motivate employers to take preventative measures or intervene to decrease stress or stop aggressive behavior and create a safer and healthier workplace. The civil tort law of negligent conduct involves the employer’s failure to keep the workplace safe from any threats of violence. The law also includes the employer’s obligation not to hire or retain people who commit violence. Employers should exert control in the employment relationship and prevent any potential violent occurrences. Organizations can be held accountable for negligent hiring practices, negligent hiring, inattentive supervision, negligent retention, and not listening to recommendations made by other organizations against a potential candidate.
The employer is also liable through agency law, which states that the employer is responsible for actions taken by their employees. The liability rests on the employment relationship. If the violent action happened during employment and the behavior can be the reason for the victim’s injury.
Another binding legal obligation is the contractual liability that employers are liable for any employee misconduct that leads to third-party injury. Civil rights laws indicate another legal obligation and state that in the condition that an employer was informed about or should have known about a harassment situation, primarily based on race, sex, religion, nationality, or disability, and did not take the appropriate action to stop it, then they can be found liable. The act states that employer knowledge is unnecessary since they can be found liable on strict liability theory.
While legal implications present a strong business case for creating a workplace free of stress and violence, an employer’s ethical obligation presents a strong business case for creating a thriving employer brand.
STRESS FACTORS
In this article, we would like to discuss both physical stress and mental stress experienced by employees in the workplace.
Stress factors vary from workplace to workplace. Employees with part-time work schedules and those who work in the retail industry experience different stress factors than those working in full-time roles and other industries. Work hours can be unpredictable for employees with part-time work schedules, contributing to stress regarding finances. Other factors include job insecurity, low pay, lack of benefits, insufficient training, and few promotion opportunities. An example is work environments dominated by males or work environments where sex segregation is present. Physical work factors contributing to stress include physical exertion, repetitive tasks, and an overall physical work environment. Lastly, demographic, and personal traits such as age, sex, and dependents contribute to stress in the workplace. Stress factors in an office-type setting where employees are full-time include work overload, lack of power or reduced power, role ambiguity, and problems within the role. Any threats to an employee’s career development and goal attainment also add to the stress. Factors such as threats of redundancy, feeling undervalued, and vague promotion opportunities are stress factors. Physical conditions contributing to stress are noise, crowded work areas, and lack of privacy. Lastly, issues between work and home such as no work-life balance or work impacting home life can also feel stressful to employees.
One key concept associated with avoiding stress in the workplace is that of psychological safety. Just like safety equipment and guidelines are put in place to ensure physical safety in workplaces, today’s complex business world demands that an emphasis be put on ensuring psychological safety for employees at all levels. As defined by Amy Edmondson, psychological safety is “a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.”
Here is how a lack of psychological safety creates stress in the workplace:
- Employees feel stress induced by fear of consequences if they speak up or provide a different opinion.
- Stress is due to the inability to try new or different approaches to doing work better.
- Stress is due to living in constant fear of being judged for their actions and behaviors.
VIOLENCE FACTORS
Several factors are contributing to violence in the workplace. Before diving in, it is essential to discuss aggression and violence.
Aggression is the act of violence, and violence is the consequence of the act.
Tobin (2001) discusses the theoretical model of violence in the workplace, which starts with frustration and ends with violence. When an employee experiences interference with attaining their goal, goal-related tasks, or goal maintenance, they typically experience frustration. Spector (1975) stated that the more frustration an employee feels, the more likely they react with aggression. If the goal attainment becomes disrupted continually, then the employee is at risk for escalation toward violence.
The early signs of frustration include:
- Identifying and using another way to achieve set goals.
- A second sign is to partake in aggression toward the company or a co-worker.
- The third sign of frustration is withdrawal and isolation.
Another sign towards violence is conflict, which occurs if an employee feels stuck in the frustration stage for an extended period. Any dispersal and use of power in the organization is a distinct area of conflict. Conflict can arise due to various roles, behaviors, organizational structures, biases and stereotypes, and lack of resources. If an employee is in the conflict stage, they are at risk of withdrawing, changing their goals, or becoming aggressive.
The third stage is aggression. Social learning theory stated that mistreated or unfairly treated employees were likely to act aggressively. If an employee feels mistreated by an organization, they are at higher risk of exerting aggression towards the organization or a co-worker. The act of violence is considered the last attempt to terminate the hindrance or cause of the undesirable feeling.
Aggressive behavior can also show up in non-threatening physical forms. Some of the most common aggressive behaviors which impact employee well-being are:
- Extreme emotional responses, especially from people in positions of power like managers and executives.
- Retaliatory actions in response to seemingly harmless behaviors. Raising voice or criticizing in public.
- Scoffing or ridiculing in formal or informal forums.
WHO IS AT RISK?
Workplace violence can occur in any workplace. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019), 68% of employees who experienced trauma from nonfatal workplace violence were women. 65% of women were aged 25-54, 70% worked in the healthcare and social assistance industry, and 41% required time away from work to recover from the traumatic event. In 2018, 82% of people who died from workplace violence were male, and 47% were white. Out of the homicide victims, 66% were aged 25-54, and 20% were in the sales industry. In 2017, more than 18,000 people suffered non-fatal workplace injuries and more than 800 people died because of workplace violence (SHRM, 2019).
SHRM conducted a national survey that indicated several alarming indications. 1 out of 7 employees reported feeling unsafe at work. 14% of employees stated their organization experienced workplace violence from 2018-2019, while 25% of HR professionals stated the same. 24% of employees stated that their organization experienced workplace violence at least once throughout their tenure, while 48% of HR professionals stated the same. Only 45% of employees reported that their organization has a workplace violence prevention program.
It is important to point out that minorities and underrepresented groups are at a higher risk of experiencing aggression in the workplace. In fact, there is a special term to describe such aggressions, called microaggressions.
Psychologist Derald W. Sue defines microaggressions as, “The everyday slights, indignities, put-downs, and insults that people of color, women or those who are marginalized experience in their day-to-day interactions with people.”
Microaggressions can severely impact people’s mental health, well-being, and productivity in the workplace. The key to creating an environment free of stress and violence is looking at the entire spectrum of what can be construed as violent, aggressive, and unsafe.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND STRESS AND VIOLENCE
Appropriate performance management can prevent stress and violence in the workplace. Supervisors should be aware that violence in the workplace is a product of a process inside an employee’s head where they think they have been mistreated, discriminated against, placed under stress, or harassed. Increased communication by the supervisor with the employee can help decrease violence by communicating those decisions made are not personal. Supervisors should also pay attention to any changes in employees, such as in their home life. If an employee is going through a stressful situation at home, they are likely to be distracted or withdrawn. Change, in general, can be stressful for employees, which can bring about changes in their behavior and is usually a sign of stress.
A helpful tactic when mitigating stress is to increase or improve communication with employees. The supervisor should understand that they are conflict managers when needed and should create and have people-sensitive plans for any situations like downsizing or terminating employees. The supervisor should also decrease stress on the job as needed and challenge employees. One component of a supervisor’s job is to delegate appropriately. Ineffective delegation could hinder the quality of work, team morale, and the development of subordinates. When a task gets delegated to an employee, the supervisor should give them time to complete the task independently. As the supervisor delegates tasks, they should be aware of the current workload of the subordinate. If subordinates fail to complete tasks assigned to them, the supervisor should check in and see what else they can do to help, such as providing more explicit instructions or resources and tools. The supervisor should also be careful with whom they delegate tasks. It is equally important to be cognizant of the delegated tasks. Some tasks are not appropriate for direct reports to complete.
Here are 3 ways to look at performance management as a meaningful process toward reducing violence and stress:
- Make performance conversations regular and frequent instead of once-a-year check-ins. This allows the manager and employee to connect over work and understand each other’s worlds.
- Performance management should not be only about evaluation and feedback. Treat it as a learning opportunity to know each other more, understand employee aspirations, and a way to develop better work practices.
- Use performance conversations to understand each employee’s lived experience in the organization, like what they might be struggling with, what is working well, what is challenging, and what conflicts are causing them stress.
A manager plays a big role in an employee’s well-being and mental health within and outside of the workplace.
Managers must realize the impact of their actions on employees’ life and productivity. Organizations for legal, ethical, and business reasons should look at ways to create psychologically safe environments for employees. Managers who are committed to creating such spaces are the true leaders of the future and will help their organizations win the war of talent.
SUMMARY
- Assault is the fourth leading cause of workplace deaths (National Safety Council, 2022) Workplace violence can occur in any workplace.
- Violence presents itself not just physically but also mentally.
- Employers have a legal and ethical obligation to prevent stress and violence in the workplace and should know the signs of stress and violence and act accordingly.
- The civil tort law of negligent conduct involves the employer’s failure to keep the workplace safe from any threats of violence.
- The employer is also liable through agency law, which states that the employer is responsible for actions taken by their employees.
- The liability rests on the employment relationship.
- Employers are liable for any employee misconduct that leads to third-party injury.
- Stress factors vary from workplace to workplace. Employees with part-time work schedules experience different stress factors than those working in full-time roles and in different industries.
- The more frustration an employee feels, the more likely they react with aggression. If the goal attainment becomes disrupted continually, then the employee is at risk for escalation toward violence (Spector, 1975).
- Conflict can arise due to various roles, behaviors, organizational structures, biases and stereotypes, and lack of resources.
- If an employee feels mistreated by an organization, they are at higher risk of exerting aggression towards the organization or a co-worker.
- 68% of employees who experienced trauma from nonfatal workplace violence were women. 1 out of 7 employees reported feeling unsafe at work.
- Underrepresented groups are at a higher risk of experiencing microaggressions in the workplace.
- Supervisors should be aware that violence in the workplace is a product of a process inside an employee’s head where they think they have been mistreated, discriminated against, placed under stress, or harassed.
- Increased communication by the supervisor with the employee can help decrease violence by communicating those decisions made are not personal.
- Supervisors should also pay attention to any changes in employees.
- The supervisor should also decrease stress on the job as needed and challenge employees. One component of a supervisor’s job is to delegate appropriately.
- If subordinates fail to complete tasks assigned to them, the supervisor should check in and see what else they can do to help, such as providing more explicit instructions or resources and tools.
Sonja Elcic is the Founder and CEO of Citrine Research and Consulting. She has her undergraduate and master’s degree in psychology and her Ph.D. in I/O psychology. Learn more about her at www.citrineresearchandconsulting.com
Bhakti Karkare is the Founder and CEO of Third Loop Learning. She is a certified SHRM professional, content developer, and product manager. Learn more about her at www.thirdlooplearning.com