The Merit Systems Protection Board is studying violence in the federal workplace and looking for ways to reduce it.
It’s preparing a report that considers forms of violence such as physical assault, the threat of assault, harassment, intimidation, or bullying and cites a 2005 Bureau of Labor survey that found higher rates of workplace violence among state and local government workers that have similar job descriptions and work in similar contexts as many federal employees.
A higher percentage of government workers work directly with the public, work with violent or unstable persons or in high crime areas or guard valuable goods and property, MSPB said. However, so far it has concluded that the most common perpetrators of violence in the federal workplace are other federal employees, and it argues agencies may need to give more attention to violence prevention efforts.
"The seeds that may spark a violent outburst by an employee may be rooted in conflict with other employees or supervisors, conflict with customers, or conflict outside the workplace such as daily economic or personal pressures," MSPB notes.
It said that while most federal employees feel their agencies take sufficient steps to ensure their safety from violence in the workplace, agencies may need to do more. In its upcoming report it plans to outline actions federal organizations can take to reduce the number of violent incidents in the workplace – which it estimates costs organizations billions every year.
It also cites the FBI’s Workplace Violence – Issues in Response and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Workplace Violence Prevention Strategies and Research Needs as good resources to consider mitigation strategies.
