Workplace violence and workplace aggression: Evidence on their relative frequency and potential causes

TLDR

Recent news reports highlight dramatic workplace violence, but these extreme acts represent only a small fraction of the broader problem of workplace aggression, which includes verbal, indirect, and passive harm toward coworkers and organizations. The study aimed to test whether most workplace aggression is verbal, indirect, and passive rather than physical, and whether recent organizational changes like downsizing and increased diversity contribute to aggression. The authors surveyed 178 employed individuals to assess the frequency of different aggression types and the association between recent organizational changes and reported aggression. Survey results showed that verbal and passive aggression were reported more frequently than physical and active aggression, and that greater recent organizational changes were associated with higher reported aggression. © 1996 Wiley‑Liss, Inc.

Abstract

Recent news reports have focused attention on dramatic instances of workplace violence—extreme acts of aggression in work settings. It is suggested here that such actions, while both tragic and frightening, are only a small part of a much larger problem of workplace aggression—efforts by individuals to harm others with whom they work or the organizations in which they are employed. The present study investigated two major hypotheses with respect to such aggression: 1) contrary to what media reports suggest, most aggression occurring in work settings is verbal, indirect, and passive rather than physical, direct, and active; 2) recent changes in many organizations (e.g., downsizing, increased workforce diversity) have generated conditions that may contribute to the occurrence of workplace aggression. A survey of 178 employed persons provided partial support for both predictions. Verbal and passive forms of aggression were rated as more frequent by participants than physical and active forms of aggression. In addition, the greater the extent to which several changes had occurred recently in participants' organizations, the greater the incidence of workplace aggression they reported. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.