Violence in Workplace No. 1 Threat

April 4, 2001
Violence in the workplace, and the damaging trauma caused by such\r\nevents, continues to be the leading concern of security managers at\r\nAmerica's largest corporations.

Violence in the workplace, and the damaging trauma caused by such events, continues to be the leading concern of security managers at America''s largest corporations, according to a survey of Fortune 1,000 companies conducted by Pinkerton.

"For three years now, security managers have told us workplace violence is their No. 1 security threat. But this year, a related concern, pre-employment screening, advanced from fifth to third place," said Don Walker, president of Pinkerton, one of the nation''s leading security firms headquartered in Chicago. "Clearly, the threat of employee-generated or employee-related violence is causing consternation. This is a wake-up call to all managers to increase their awareness of the issues and establish crisis plans in the event of such incidents."

Results of Pinkerton''s annual survey, "Top Security Threats," underscore the pervasive nature of the workplace violence problem:

  • Each workday, an estimated 16,400 threats are made, 723 workers are attacked and 43,800 are harassed.
  • More than 1,000 U.S. workers are victims of homicide at work each year, according to OSHA.
  • Approximately 2 million assaults and threats of violence occur each year in the workplace, according to the Department of Justice.
  • Estimates suggest that workplace violence costs U.S. employers as much as $4.2 billion annually.

The Pinkerton report is available online at the company''s Web site, www.Pinkertons.com.

by Virginia Sutcliffe

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