Violence in the Workplace in British Columbia: A Preliminary Investigation

• NCJ Number: 158215
• Journal: Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 37 Issue: 4 Dated: (October 1995) Pages: 491-519
• Author(s): N Boyd
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 29 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: Canada
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This article examines the incidence of violence in the British Columbian workplace, using employee claims for time loss filed with the provincial Workers' Compensation Board.

Abstract

The results are discussed in terms of the extent of the problem, the relative risk of violence for workers within various industries in the province, and the issue of whether the problem of violence at work is becoming more severe. The results showed that health care workers face a similar severity of risk as police officers, and that over the past decade, there have been significant increases in workplace violence within the health care sector, particularly in long-term institutions. Five directions for reducing workplace violence are discussed here, involving changing or improving workplace rules, environmental design, the nature of specific institutions, employee education and training, and staffing assignments. 6 graphs, 2 notes, and 11 references