Organizational and Individual Consequences of Workplace Violence

Abstract

Work is vital in the lives of people and it is important that the workplace is as safe as possible. However, there is an increasing trend of violence of various forms at the workplace. The increasing phenomenon has devastating consequences on the individual worker and the organisation, as well as witnesses and society at large. Certain types of violence tend to happen more in specific sectors than others. This paper presented the various conceptions of workplace violence, the prevalence and potential antecedents. The paper also discussed the individual and organisational consequences of workplace violence. These consequences could be in the form of physical harm to the victim, including death, psychological harm and financial. Productivity, work attitude and corporate image of an organisation could be affected as a result of incidences of workplace violence. Finally, recommendations for addressing the various kinds of violence and their concomitant consequences are presented.

Keywords: Workplace violence, psychological consequence, physical harms, prevalence, antecedent of violence, organisation consequences