Non-fatal acts of violence in the workplace are numerous, but national data on the frequency of these injuries is limited. Using survey data collected during the years 1987-1992, the National Crime Victimization Survey estimates that nearly one million workers are assaulted annually in U.S. workplaces. The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries examined workers compensation claims for the period 1992-1995. An average of 2,529 claims related to assaults and violent acts occurred each year. Of these, an average of 666 claims each year resulted in four or more days of time lost from work.
Some employers tend to focus on the problem of worker-generated violence in the workplace.
Violence in the workplace . For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 1992 approximately 20 percent of the women killed in the workplace were murdered by a husband or a male partner, former or current. In the short-term, employers can take steps to make the workplace safer. In the long-term, these steps will not be fully successful unless the underlying causes of violence in society are addressed. It is critical that business, labor, social and health services, education, law enforcement and government undertake a collaborative approach to prevention.