Mitigating workplace violence through duty of care

Each year, more than 2 million people in the United States alone fall victim to some sort of workplace violence, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Not only are there many workplace violence cases that are reported in the U.S., but there are also many more that go unreported. When speaking recently with my friend and colleague, Kelly Johnstone, former Chief Security Officer for The Coca-Cola Company and Senior Advisor to International SOS, she advised “Just because you as an organization aren’t aware of incidents or workplace violence, doesn’t mean there aren’t any. Unfortunately, it’s more likely the opposite is true.” 

Workplace violence comes in many forms and can be defined as any act or threat of physical violence, harassment or intimidation. At one end of the spectrum, it includes the very acute situations such as a shooting or workplace homicide. However, there are the majority, less-physical situations that arise more often, all of which can affect a wide-ranging number of stakeholders, including employees, clients, customers and visitors. Examples of less lethal workplace violence scenarios include team members bullying a co-worker, a threat from a co-worker or a frustrated customer verbally threatening an employee. In recent years, COVID-19 has also shifted many workplace models, exposing that workplace violence doesn't happen just in-office, but it can also occur on digital platforms, and in the home office.