Disturbing results to a survey by leading career building and networking site LinkMe.com.au has found that there has been a 400% increase in work place violence since 1998.
Figures from the Australian Institute of Criminology show that one in twenty people were a victim of work place violence back in 1998, moving forward to LinkMe’s survey in 2007 we see a sharp rise to one in five.
Over 2000 responses found stress to be the predominant reason for workers becoming violent, followed closely by conflicting personalities, lack of respect and bullying.
“Violence in the Australian workplace has risen dramatically,” said Campbell Sallabank, CEO of LinkMe Pty Ltd. “The four fold increase is alarming. Work is a place where people should be able to feel safe.”
“There are of course so many pressures on people today – financial strains, the high cost of living, housing and education. These costs rise every day. This type of stress in a professional situation can lead to people acting in a way which is out of character – however, this behaviour is not something you want to make excuses for.”
Other results found through the surveys show that those working in the health care and medical industry are at greater risk of becoming a victim of a colleague's violence (36.6%), in comparison to the automotive industry (32%), trades and services (26.9) and the government (26.6).
Happily for those working in the Accounting (10%), construction (12.5%) and IT (14%) industries, the risk of getting caught up in violence inflicted by a colleague is much lower.
Positive figures were derived from the survey in relation to violence that targeted women in the workplace, outlining incidents are down almost 30%, with women now accounting for 42% of cases compared with 70% in 1995.
Sallabank continued, “The Australia OHS legislation calls for employers to exercise a duty of care toward their employees, and this should obviously include an obligation to protect their employees from harm from others.”
“Preventative measures in such situations tend to be the most effective, so perhaps employers need to implement programs to help staff moral and stress as a way of preventing these issues occurring.”
