To understand the issue of workplace violence, this section provides an overview of major issues addressed in the literature. While the first issue includes introductions of categories and types of workplace violence, the second issue examines workplace violence from individual, organizational, and social perspectives. External violence in the workplace, on the other hand, consists of crimes committed by persons who are not affiliated with the organization. While there are many cases of external violence in the workplace, especially in the cases against public agencies and employees, most of the reported workplace violence cases are generally considered as internal violence. Attack refers to the use of force against another in order to inflict harm.
Threat is defined as an expression of one's intention to inflict injury.
Harassment has to do with any behavior designed to trouble or worry the victim. Among the three types, it is the type of attack, especially associated with deaths of the victim, which attract media and public attention. The first source of violence relates to an individual employee's personal values, job attitudes and behavior, socialization in the organization, and interaction in the society. The issues addressed in this aspect consist of, for example, employee's type of personality and motivation, personal habits and problems, perceived anger and stress, and negative personal experience. For example, one of the major organizational sources of workplace violence is employee's reaction to new managerial philosophy and strategy of downsizing.