Work-related violence, both verbal and physical, has serious consequences for your employees and your business. For employees, violence can cause pain, distress and even disability or death.
HSE defines work-related violence as:
‘any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work’.
Physical attacks are obviously dangerous, but serious or persistent verbal abuse can be a significant problem too, as it can harm the health of your employees through stress and anxiety.
This can represent a real financial cost for you, the employer, through low staff morale and high staff turnover which in turn can affect the confidence of your business and its profitability. Further costs may also arise from expensive insurance premiums and compensation payments.