Not in my job description: Characteristics of unreported workplace violence

Background: On average 1.7 million people each year are victims of violent crime while working in the United States. These incidents have health outcomes ranging from short-term stress to mortality. While prevalent, reporting of workplace assaults to authorities is limited and little is known of the nature and sequelae of these assaults.

Design and Methods: Cross-sectional data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) for the years 1992-2005. NCVS is a bi-annual nationally representative sample of approximately 100,000 individuals aged 12+ at residential addresses. Individuals included in this analysis reported that their victimization occurred at their worksite (N=17,728). Weighted bivariate analysis and logistic regression were conducted.

Results: Of the assaults at work 37% were physical, 53% of which were unreported to police. Victims were more likely to be male, younger, and work at night (p<0.05). Of the 866 workers reporting an assault related injury, 23% lost time from work, averaging 13 days. Of these individuals 53% reported losing pay averaging $974 per incident.

After controlling for known risk factors for victimization, workers were less likely to report assault when they knew the offender, if they worked for private companies or the federal government, and if they were working days. Nighttime incidents were more likely to be physical.

Conclusions: Unreported workplace violence is a common and serious problem, particularly in its physical form, which disproportionately affects late-night employees. Policy implications include implementation and enforcement of late-night retail laws and mandatory reporting of workplace violent crimes.