Canadian Perspectives on Conceptualizing and Responding to Workplace Violence

Abstract

Although archival data suggests that workplace violence existed in the 1920s, the topic has only begun to receive worthy attention. Despite the efforts of academic pioneers in the 1980s to raise topical awareness, it was not until a series of infamously tragic events in the 1990s that workplace violence became a subject of discussion. This article offers a Canadian perspective on the emerging conceptualization with implications for legislative and organizational responses. The necessity of emphasizing prevention and reaction in a comprehensive model that addresses workplace violence is underscored, particularly before benign actions potentiate into more serious forms of violence. A hierarchy of legislatively informed prevention initiatives is provided, as is a continuum of workplace violence that emphasizes the recognition of psychosocial acts. The relationship between a well workplace and a violence-free workplace is illustrated thematically throughout.

KEYWORDS:

• continuum
• prevention
• psychosocial
• responses
• workplace violence

Notes

Source: Baron, Neuman, & Geddes, 1999; Castillo & Jenkins, 2004; Douglas & Martinko, 2001; FBI, 2004, 2011; Grayson, 2010; LeBlanc & Barling, 2005; Lieber, 2007; Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 2009; Public Services Health and Safety Association, 2010.