Poor Work Organization and Co-worker Workplace Violence

Background/Objectives: Workplace bullying and other forms of coworker conflict (Type III Violence), a largely under-recognized problem in the U.S. poses significant personal and occupational health costs. Workers who are targets report significant impacts including lost time, physical and mental illnesses, separation from employment, as well as reduced productivity. Methods: This paper will present an overview of the problem from a mix-methods research project that included a cross sectional survey (n= 13,000) and a series of focus group from a large eastern state government workforce. Data associating work organization factors, such as low coworker support, poor supervision, short staffing, lack of systems to address co-worker conflicts, and conflict between coworkers, including management, will be presented. Results: Findings include that workplaces at high risk of other forms of violence are also at increased risk of coworker conflict. A comprehensive intervention to reduce violence which includes early intervention, conflict resolution training, complaint/ reporting systems, supervisor training, performance evaluation that include supervisory skills, and policy and procedure development, will be a focus of discussion. Conclusion: Type III violence has not until recently been the subject of inquiry in a large U.S. State government workforce. Our survey data demonstrate the contribution of poor work organization to this highly prevalent and costly problem.