Violence and Abuse In and Around Organisations

Book excerpt: This international collection examines violence and abuse in and around organisations. The collection documents the causes, specifically from the perspective of human relations and of the workplace conditions. It also highlights the specific risks associated with high-risk professions or working environments. The first section considers types of violence and abuse, their relative frequencies, potential individual and workplace antecedents, costs to individuals, family’s organisations and societies, the fact both are increasing in frequency with new types (e.g., terrorism) appearing, and why addressing these has become increasingly important for individuals and organisations. The second section considers violence in interpersonal relationships such as bullying, incivility, bias and harassment, and toxic leadership. The third section examines unsafe workplaces, accidents, injuries, and deaths. The fourth section considers exploitive work conditions and arrangements such as precarious employment, the exploitation of immigrants, and human slavery. The final section offers suggestions on ways to address violence and abuse in and around organisations. These include aggression preventative supervisor behaviours in health care, suicide prevention in the workplace, dealing with disgruntled employees and former employees, and workplace interventions that address stress reduction more broadly. As with other titles in the Psychological and Behavioural Aspects of Risk Series, this research-based collection is firmly grounded in the boundary between work and society and offers important insights into how social and cultural problems are manifest in the workplace and how poor and abusive workplace practice, in turn, spills out into wider life.