9 - Violence in the Workplace – The Explanatory Strength of Social (In)Justice Theories

Summary

Introduction

Violence is one of the most troubling issues facing many organizations today. The Second European Survey on Working Conditions, based on 16,000 face-to-face interviews with workers throughout the European Union, indicated that each year about six million European workers (= 4% of all workers) are subjected to physical violence; twelve million workers (8%) are subjected to intimidation and bullying, and three million workers (2%) are subjected to sexual harassment. Highest exposures to sexual harassment were found in the catering services (hotels and restaurants), among female workers, and among employees with a precarious status, that is, employees with fixed-term contracts and temporary agency contracts. As for intimidation and bullying, high exposure rates were found in services (public administration, banking, and other services); and again, employees in precarious employment are among the most affected. Physical violence is one of the severe problems in public administration. The European Survey also found that violence at work clearly seems to lead to an increase in health complaints, in particular to stress. And health-related absenteeism increased at an alarming rate along with violence at work (Paoli, 1997). American society has the same problems of violence in the workplace. For example, homicide is one of the leading causes of death in the workplace.