Workplace violence

Abstract

This chapter provides a background on several topics under the rubric of workplace violence. Specifically, workplace violence issues are addressed in a comprehensive manner by exploring types and trends of workplace violence, research on the prevalence of each type of violence, as well as by analyzing the social, occupational, and psychological impacts of workplace violence. This chapter examines the interrelationship between the environment and social constructs that may foster violence; particularly, how the organizational structure and social climate influence the occurrence of violence. Furthermore, the authors consider more recently studied phenomena including cyberbullying and interpersonal relationship violence in the context of an occupation. Beyond this, we also propose strategies for prevention and intervention.