February 29, 2012 SHRM Survey Findings: Workplace Violence

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Definitions 2  Workplace violence: Assaults and other violent acts or threats that occur in or are related to the workplace and entail a substantial risk of physical or emotional harm to individuals or damage to company resources or capabilities. Workplace violence may involve employees, clients and vendors of the affected organization as well as those who do not have a relationship with the organization but who may know the intended victims.  Target: The person toward whom the threat of violence is directed.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Key Findings 3  Are organizations experiencing workplace violence? Over one-third (36%) of organizations reported incidents of workplace violence. Compared with two years ago, most organizations indicated that incidents of violence had either stayed about the same (45%) or decreased in frequency (40%), while 15% reported an increase in frequency.  To whom are threats of violence typically reported? The majority of organizations reported that threats of violence are reported to the HR department/function head (83%) or to the threatened employee’s direct supervisor (68%).  How do or would organizations respond to threats of violence from an employee? The top four responses were: the response depends on the specific circumstance (61%), zero tolerance policy (immediate termination) (47%), a written warning (31%) and suspension (29%).  What are the costs of workplace violence? The three most common costs associated with workplace violence were management time/expense (55%), productivity loss (37%) and staff replacement costs resulting from turnover caused by the incident (34%).

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Workplace Violence 4  Incidents of Violence in the Workplace  Incident Reporting  Response to Incidents  Effects of Violence on Employees  Costs of Violence to the Organization  Workplace Culture

Workplace Violence ©SHRM Has your current organization ever experienced an incident of workplace violence? Note: Respondents who answered “not sure/don’t know” were excluded from this analysis.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Has your current organization ever experienced an incident of workplace violence? Small organizationsLarge organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 1 to 99 employees (12%) 100 to 499 employees (33%) 2,500 to 24,999 employees (62%) 25,000 or more employees (91%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations 6 Comparisons by organization staff size Larger organizations (2,500 or more employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (1-499 employees) to have experienced an incident of workplace violence.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM Has your current organization experienced an incident of workplace violence? Note: Respondents who answered “not sure/don’t know” were excluded from this analysis.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM Have incidents of violence in your organization...? Note: Only respondents whose organizations had experienced an incident of workplace violence in the past five years were asked this question in the 2011 survey. Respondents who answered “not sure/don’t know” were excluded from this analysis. For 2011 data, the question asked about incidents of violence “compared with two years ago” whereas for 2003 data, the question asked about incidents of violence “since January 1, 2000”.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Through what channels or to whom within your organization are threats of violence typically reported? 9 Note: n = 69. Only respondents whose organizations had experienced an incident of workplace violence in the past five years were asked this question. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Through what channels or to whom within your organization are threats of violence typically reported? Smaller organizationsLarger organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 500 to 2,499 employees (14%) 2,500 to 24,999 employees (67%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations 10 Comparisons by organization staff size Larger organizations (2,500-24,999 employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (500-2,499 employees) to typically report threats of violence to other management-level staff (nonexecutive). Smaller organizations (1-99 employees) are more likely than larger organizations (2,500-24,999 employees) to typically report threats of violence to executive-level staff. Small organizationsLarge organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 1 to 99 employees (57%) 2,500 to 24,999 employees (6%) Smaller organizations > larger organizations Larger organizations (25,000 or more employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (100-2,499 employees) to typically report threats of violence to a hotline or other reporting system. Smaller organizationsLarger organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 100 to 499 employees (12%) 500 to 2,499 employees (21%) 25,000 or more employees (78%)Larger organizations > smaller organizations

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 How does or would your organization respond to threats of violence from an employee? 11 Note: Respondents who answered “N/A, the organization has not had threats of violence from any employee” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 How does or would your organization respond to threats of violence from an employee? Publicly owned for-profitGovernmentDifferences based on organization sector 2% 27% Government > publicly owned for-profit 12 Comparisons by organization sector Government agencies are more likely than publicly owned for-profit organizations to respond to threats of violence with mandatory anger management training. Government agencies are more likely than privately owned for-profit organizations to respond to threats of violence with paid administrative leave. Privately owned for-profitGovernmentDifferences based on organization sector 5% 27% Government > privately owned for-profit Government agencies are more likely than privately owned for-profit organizations to respond to threats of violence with reassignment to another department or area. Privately owned for-profitGovernmentDifferences based on organization sector 3% 23% Government > privately owned for-profit

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 How does or would your organization respond to threats of violence from an employee? (continued) Publicly owned for- profit Privately owned for- profit Government Differences based on organization sector 57%51%18% Publicly owned for-profit, privately owned for-profit > government 13 Comparisons by organization sector (continued) Publicly owned for-profit organizations or privately owned for-profit organizations are more likely than government agencies to respond to threats of violence with a zero tolerance policy (immediate termination).

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Who is responsible for handling the organization’s response to threats of violence from an employee? 14 Note: Respondents who answered “N/A, no set responsibility” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Who is responsible for handling the organization’s response to threats of violence from an employee? Small organizationsLarge organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 100 to 499 employees (46%) 2,500 to 24,999 employees (21%) Small organizations > large organizations 15 Comparisons by organization staff size Smaller organizations ( employees) are more likely to report that executive-level staff is responsible for handling the organization’s response to threats of violence, compared with larger organizations (2,500-24,999 employees). Larger organizations (2,500 or more employees) are more likely to report that legal counsel is responsible for handling the organization’s response to threats of violence, compared with smaller organizations (1-99 employees). Small organizationsLarge organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 1 to 99 employees (8%) 2,500 to 24,999 employees (38%) 25,000 or more employees (47%) Large organizations > small organizations Larger organizations (2,500 or more employees) are more likely to report that the security department is responsible for handling the organization’s response to threats of violence, compared with smaller organizations (1-99 employees or 500-2,499 employees). Small organizationsLarge organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 1 to 99 employees (3%) 500 to 2,499 employees (10%) 2,500 to 24,999 employees (31%) 25,000 or more employees (40%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Who is responsible for handling the organization’s response to threats of violence from an employee? (continued) Publicly owned for- profit Privately owned for- profit GovernmentDifferences based on organization sector 95%93%71% Publicly owned for-profit, privately owned for-profit > government 16 Comparisons by organization sector Publicly and privately owned for-profit organizations are more likely to report that the HR department/function is responsible for handling the organization’s response to threats of violence, compared with government agencies. Government agencies are more likely than nonprofit organizations to report that legal counsel is responsible for handling the organization’s response to threats of violence. NonprofitGovernmentDifferences based on organization sector 14%42%Government > nonprofit

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 In your opinion, how have incidents of violence in your workplace affected the employees in your organization? 17 Note: Only respondents whose organizations had experienced an incident of workplace violence were asked this question. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options. An asterisk (*) indicates response choice was not available in the 2003 survey.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 In your opinion, how have incidents of violence in your workplace affected the employees in your organization? Small organizationsLarge organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 100 to 499 employees (7%) 25,000 or more employees (60%) Large organizations > small organizations 18 Comparisons by organization staff size Larger organizations (25,000 or more employees) are more likely to report that incidents of workplace violence resulted in complaints about decreased trust in management, compared with smaller organizations ( employees). Larger organizations (25,000 or more employees) are more likely to report that incidents of workplace violence resulted in complaints about decreased morale, compared with smaller organizations ( employees). Small organizationsLarge organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 100 to 499 employees (10%) 25,000 or more employees (70%) Large organizations > small organizations Larger organizations (500-2,499 employees) are more likely to report that incidents of workplace violence resulted in complaints about a decreased sense of safety, compared with smaller organizations ( employees). Small organizationsLarge organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 100 to 499 employees (10%) 500 to 2,499 employees (52%) Large organizations > small organizations

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Which of the following costs associated with incidents of workplace violence has your organization experienced? Management time/expense of being distracted from focusing on managing business operations55% Productivity loss (e.g., slower production)37% Staff replacement costs due to turnover caused by the incident34% Increased training expenses31% Increased security expenses28% Incident debriefing with affected employees28% Turnover-related expenses27% Increased communications cost (e.g., meetings, equipment)27% Increased legal expenses/higher utilization of legal staff20% Increased HR expenses19% Increased absenteeism17% Lawsuit-related expenses15% Temporary hiring costs14% Increased EAP/psychiatric services expenses11% 19 Note: n = 85. Only respondents whose organizations had experienced an incident of workplace violence were asked this question. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Which of the following costs associated with incidents of workplace violence has your organization experienced? Small organizationsLarge organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 1 to 99 employees (50%) 100 to 499 employees (7%) 500 to 2,499 employees (5%) Small organizations > large organizations 20 Comparisons by organization staff size Smaller organizations (1-99 employees) are more likely than larger organizations (100-2,499 employees) to report that they experienced temporary hiring costs associated with incidents of workplace violence. Larger organizations (25,000 or more employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (500-2,499 employees) to report that they experienced turnover related expenses associated with incidents of workplace violence. Small organizationsLarge organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 500 to 2,499 employees (10%) 25,000 or more employees (60%) Large organizations > smaller organizations Smaller organizations (1-99 employees) are more likely than larger organizations (100-2,499 employees) to report that they experienced increased legal expenses/higher utilization of legal staff associated with incidents of workplace violence. Small organizationsLarge organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 1 to 99 employees (63%) 100 to 499 employees (4%) 500 to 2,499 employees (10%) Small organizations > larger organizations

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Which of the following costs associated with incidents of workplace violence has your organization experienced?(continued) Small organizationsLarge organizationsDifferences based on organization staff size 500 to 2,499 employees (5%) 25,000 or more employees (50%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations 21 Comparisons by organization staff size (continued) Larger organizations (25,000 or more employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (500-2,499 employees) to report that they experienced increased HR expenses associated with incidents of workplace violence.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM Demographics

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Demographics: Organization Industry 23 Note: n = 326. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Demographics: Organization Sector 24 n = 322

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Demographics: Organization Staff Size 25 Note: n = 319. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 Demographics: Other 26 U.S.-based operations only77% Multinational operations24% Single-unit company: A company in which the location and the company are one and the same. 34% Multi-unit company: A company that has more than one location. 66% Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices 49% Each work location determines HR policies and practices 4% A combination of both the work location and the multi-unit headquarters determine HR policies and practices 47% Is your organization a single-unit company or a multi-unit company? Are HR policies and practices determined by the multi-unit corporate headquarters, by each work location or both? Does your organization have U.S.- based operations (business units) only or does it operate multinationally? n = 327 n = 331 n = 226 Corporate (companywide)64% Business unit/division18% Facility/location18% n = 226 What is the HR department/function for which you responded throughout this survey? Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

Workplace Violence ©SHRM 2012 SHRM Survey: Workplace Violence  Response rate = 15%  Sample composed of 401 randomly selected HR professionals from SHRM’s membership.  Margin of error +/- 5%  Survey fielded May 9-27, Methodology For more poll findings, visit Follow us on Twitter: