Key Takeaways
- Workplace violence prevention is increasingly becoming an EHS, human resources, security, and operational priority, not solely a physical security issue.
- An effective workplace violence prevention program starts with understanding potential hazards and creating systems to prevent, report, respond to, and learn from incidents.
- Regulatory requirements vary by jurisdiction, so multi-location employers need to understand both broad organizational risks and location-specific obligations.
Workplace violence prevention, once a narrow security issue, is now an important part of how organizations protect their people, support psychological safety, and meet evolving regulatory expectations.
As workplace violence prevention requirements expand across jurisdictions, employers are challenged to look beyond incident response and take a proactive approach to identifying, assessing, and managing potential risks.
What Is Workplace Violence?
Workplace violence includes more than physical assault. Depending on the applicable regulatory framework, it may encompass threats, intimidation, harassment, verbal or online abuse, and other behaviors that create a risk of physical or psychological harm. It can involve employees, customers, clients, patients, contractors, members of the public, or individuals with a personal connection to an employee.
Because workplace violence can take different forms across industries and work environments, prevention begins with understanding employees’ exposure risks.
Workplace Violence Regulations are Evolving
Over the past several years, workplace violence prevention has moved beyond its status as a leading practice to become a regulatory requirement. In a growing number of jurisdictions, employers are being asked to take a more structured and proactive approach to identifying risks, preparing employees, responding to, and learning from incidents.
In the United States, federal OSHA does not currently have a workplace-violence-specific standard that applies broadly across industries. However, Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the General Duty Clause, requires employers to “furnish to each of his employees 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.” OSHA can use the General Duty Clause in workplace violence cases where the hazard is recognized, could cause death or serious physical harm, and feasible methods exist to materially reduce the hazard.
In addition to federal requirements, states are establishing more specific workplace violence prevention obligations. For example, in California, Senate Bill 553 requires most employers to establish a written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan, train employees, maintain incident logs, and investigate workplace violence events. In New York, the Retail Worker Safety Act requires covered retail employers to implement workplace violence prevention policies and training. Beginning January 1, 2027, retail employers with 500 or more retail employees in New York State must also provide employees with access to silent response buttons. The shift is not limited to the United States.
Globally, workplace violence is being addressed through broader psychosocial risk management requirements. For some countries, such as Australia, Germany, United Kingdom, and The Netherlands, workplace violence and harassment are within the broader legally binding risk assessment frameworks. However, a number of countries, including France, Belgium, and Denmark, have opted for standalone statutory programs that focus on workplace violence, third-part aggression or moral harassment. These programs have direct consequences for employers in the form of monetary fines and leadership accountability, as well as indirect effects such as the erosion of safety culture and brand reputation. And these are not new concepts; Sweden’s Ordinance for Violence and Threats in the Workplace went into effect in 1993.
This global shift is also reflected in the International Labour Organization’s Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), which establishes an international framework for preventing and addressing violence and harassment at work. For multinational organizations, workplace violence prevention requires both an organization-wide strategy and an understanding of jurisdiction-specific requirements.
Why is the Focus Increasing Now?
Workplace violence risks can emerge from workplace conditions, job responsibilities, interactions with the public, and external circumstances. Many organizations have to navigate a combination of risks, including:
- Political and ideological polarization that enters workplace relationships
- Economic pressures affecting employees in the workplace and at home
- Aggressive or threatening customer interactions
- Online and social media conflicts that spill into the workplace
- Threats directed at frontline, public-facing, or lone workers
- Harassment and intimidation, both online and in person
- Domestic or personal conflicts that extend to the workplace
- Work environments or job responsibilities that increase exposure to violence or aggression
Politics is rarely the sole cause of workplace violence. However, polarized public discourse can heighten tensions, reduce civility, and make conflict more likely.
As a result, EHS professionals are increasingly being asked to consider workplace violence within broader worker health, well-being, and psychological safety programs.
What Does an Effective Workplace Violence Prevention Program Include?
For employers, the takeaway is clear: Workplace violence prevention cannot be limited to emergency response training/evacuation drills or physical security measures. An effective program fosters a culture of prevention, preparedness, response, and continuous improvement.
While program requirements should reflect applicable regulations and an organization’s specific risks, several additional measures can create a more comprehensive approach: Culture and psychosocial assessment:
- Assessing your culture is one of the most effective ways to identify and prevent workplace violence. Many of the same organizational conditions that contribute to injuries and incidents also contribute to conflict, harassment, threats, and violence.
- Leadership engagement: Ensure management and employees understand that prevention is an organizational priority and know their roles in identifying, reporting, and responding to potential concerns.
- Clear reporting systems: Establish processes that are accessible, trusted, and designed to support early intervention, including clear guidance on when and how employees should report threats, concerning behavior, or incidents.
- Psychosocial risk management: Identify and address workplace factors that may increase conflict or harm.
- Practical employee training: Provide training that reflects job roles, work environments, applicable regulatory requirements, and realistic scenarios.
- Coordinated incident response: Define responsibilities and escalation processes across EHS, security, human resources, legal, and operational teams.
- A “speak up” culture: Create an environment where employees can raise concerns without fear of retaliation.
- Incident review and continuous improvement: Evaluate incidents and reported concerns to identify patterns, determine whether controls worked as intended, and update the program when risks, operations, or regulatory requirements change.
For organizations operating across multiple locations or countries, these measures provide a common framework while allowing individual sites to address location-specific hazards and regulatory requirements.
Workplace Violence Prevention is an Ongoing Process
Organizations that recognize workplace violence as a risk to both people and business are better positioned to protect employees and respond to evolving regulatory expectations.
The strongest programs do more than address incidents after they occur; they create conditions for concerns to be recognized, mitigated, reported, and managed before they escalate. That requires an ongoing cycle of risk assessment, prevention, training, reporting, response, and program improvement, rather than a one-time policy or training exercise.
Need help completing a cultural or psychosocial assessment across your operations? Reach out to Antea Group for a consultation and strategic advice.
Frequently Asked Questions About Workplace Violence Prevention
What are examples of workplace violence?
Workplace violence can be committed by both internal and external members of the workplace community. When we discuss workplace violence actions like the following are what we are discussing:
- Physical assault
- Threatening behavior
- Verbal abuse or intimidation
- Stalking
- Domestic violence affecting the workplace
- Brandishing a weapon
- Property damage intended to intimidate others
What should a workplace violence risk assessment evaluate?
A workplace violence risk assessment should evaluate factors such as previous incidents and near misses, interactions with customers or the public, lone or remote work, physical workplace conditions, reporting data, job responsibilities, existing controls, and other circumstances that could increase employee exposure to violence or aggression.
Is workplace violence prevention only an EHS responsibility?
No. Effective workplace violence prevention typically requires coordination across EHS, human resources, security, legal, operations, leadership, and employees. Clearly defining responsibilities before an incident occurs can help organizations respond more effectively when concerns arise.