Recognizing and Addressing Violence and Harassment in the Workplace

A critical first step is expanding the definition of Workplace Violence (WPV) within your organization to extend beyond what is traditionally considered WPV, such as active shooter events and other acts of aggression.

The Workplace Violence and Active Assailant—Prevention, Intervention, and Response ASIS Standard defines workplace violence as “a spectrum of behaviors, including overt acts of violence, threats, and other conduct that generates a reasonable concern for safety from violence, where a nexus exists between the behavior and the physical safety of employees from any internal or external relationship.” This includes: 

• behavior that is concerning but not violent, such as stalking (in person and online), physical intimidation, infatuation with weapons and violence, and suicidal statements

• conduct by former employees, contractors, visitors, customers, and clients

• emotional aggression such as workplace bullying, sabotage, and other forms of harassment. 

• conduct by partners and family members of employees, including domestic violence or abuse.
  

Broadening the definition allows companies to identify and address a risk prior to an act of violence, especially for behavior that is not violent, but could be a warning sign.

These warning signs are easy to overlook but should be considered in the aggregate, highlighting clusters of behaviors or notable changes to baseline behavior, such as a sudden drop in performance, excessive absence, financial distress, and unusual antisocial behavior.

Notably, this definition does not need to stipulate where the activity occurs, or that it needs to occur at the workplace. This distinction is critical in remote work or hybrid work environments, which will likely remain the norm for the foreseeable future, and will allow companies to be more proactive in ensuring employee safety while ensuring duty of care requirements are met. Under OSHA’s General Duty Clause, every employer has a general duty to “… furnish to each of his employee’s employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.”  That duty applies regardless of the location where your employees are working.

This duty of care required in a COVID world means that domestic violence and unsafe home-life conditions will overlap with company WPV programs.

The Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, a national nonprofit organization based in Bloomington, IL found that 21% of full-time employed adults said they were victims of domestic violence. The Department of Labor reports that victims of domestic violence lose nearly 8 million days of paid work per year in the U.S., resulting in a $1.8 billion loss in productivity for employers. 

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, research is beginning to show a rise in domestic violence incidents across the globe. It is estimated that over 10 million adults experience some form of domestic violence every year, which is almost 20 people every single minute in the U.S alone. Of those numbers, approximately 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men report that they have experienced severe domestic violence. However, emerging data now estimates that 1 in 2 women reported that they have experienced violence since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While not a direct relationship, the pandemic has exacerbated DV and removed the protective factors of community relationships and outside influence and input, deepening survivor isolation. This can lead to escalation of violence.

Since the March lockdown, we’ve seen reports from Portland, Oregon that show a 22% increase in DV reports, San Antonio, Texas, where calls increased by 18%, Jefferson County, Alabama, where DV reports increased by 27%, and much more. Therefore, it is no surprise then that DAFW (days away from work) cases for women in private industries increased by 68% in 2020, according to a news release by the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Considering that millions of Americans across the country will face some form of domestic violence, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made it clear that ignorance of the issue is no longer a viable defense for corporate leaders and CSOs. WOMAN, Inc., a non-profit organization based in San Francisco, CA, warns businesses that many survivors of domestic violence do not disclose because of a fear of professional consequences, a trend that inadvertently impacts the safety of not only the survivor, but all of his and her colleagues, as 58-88% of survivors have experienced harassment by a partner (or ex-partner) on the job. 

While there are limits to what employers can and should do to address instances of violence outside the workplace, at the very least, employees should have a clear and confidential means to report these incidents, request accommodations and support from EAPs, and alert security teams to any workplace safety concerns.