15 Shocking Workplace Violence Statistics

In recent years, workplace violence statistics show some terrifying numbers.

And we’re not just talking about extreme cases like shootings. Violence has a lot of different faces. From harassment to intimidation, we’ve covered it all.

Fair warning, though.

Those will shock you.

Disturbing Workplace Violence Statistics

The picture is very, very far from perfect:

• 2 million people become victims of workplace violence annually.
• Healthcare workers are most often affected – 50% of cases involve medics.
• 7% of fatalities in the workplace involve some sort of physical damage.
• Women report around 30,000 sexual assaults on the job.
• 60.4 million Americans have been bullied while working.
• By April 2021, there were 26 victims of workplace shootings.

Unfortunately, that’s not all.

General Workplace Violence Statistics

Here’s something worrying:

Most businesses do not report workplace violence that does not result in deaths or serious injuries. That’s due to lack of communication, fear of taking action, and of course, lack of awareness.

But the numbers are hard to ignore. 

1. Every year, 2 million people experience some form of workplace violence.

(Legal Jobs)

Recent trends show a slow increase. 2 million people annually are reporting some form of workplace violence.

This number, however, is not really accurate. These are only the cases that have been officially reported. The real stats on workplace violence are probably much more disturbing.

2. One in seven people doesn’t feel safe in their workplace.

(Legal Jobs)

Can you imagine going to work and being scared to arrive at your office?

I can’t either.

But that’s the reality for some people. And, as you can probably guess, high levels of anxiety lead to low levels of productivity.

3. In 2020, 30% of the people said they were unaware of their company’s safety plan.

(Rave Mobile Safety)

That doesn’t include only violent attacks, such as shootings though. Although most firms claim to have a plan for medical emergencies, cyberattacks, outrages, and weather issues, they are almost never tested.

And speaking of medical emergencies, here are some dark workplace violence statistics in the healthcare sector:

4. Healthcare workers make 50% of victims of such crimes.

(Security)

Disappointed, but not surprised.

Nurses get attacked more often than doctors. It’s because they spend more time with patients. 

Things look really bad, actually:

• 70% of emergency nurses have been assaulted on the job. 
• 47% of the emergency doctors have experienced some sort of violence while working.

5. In November 2020, 20% of nurses reported an increase in attacks against them.

(Security)

The world was totally unprepared for COVID-19. People were having complications due to the virus, and they sometimes lead to the worst possible scenario.

The medics were our first line of defense, and they took the hardest hits. Not only from the coronavirus but from stressed relatives of patients.

Workplace violence statistics by industry, however, show that nurses aren’t the only ones in the top spot.

6. 44% of school teachers also report attacks in the workplace.

(What to Become)

School shootings in the USA, especially, are, sadly, not such a rare occurrence. 

But we’re talking about all types of violence here – physical, verbal, even sexual. The worst part is that most of the time, teachers don’t report those cases in order to protect their students, workplace violence statistics show.

Sometimes, however, such attacks can lead to horrible things.

7. 7% of fatalities that occurred in the workplace have been a result of hitting, kicking, beating, and/or pushing.

(Legal Jobs)

It’s not only patients. Many employees are assaulted at work by a coworker or a supervisor.

Physical assault at the workplace can include multiple acts of violence, such as hitting, kicking, beating, clawing, and pushing. 

Only 2% of cases involve verbal attacks.

Workplace Violence Types

As we said, violence has different faces. We’ll try to show you some of them in the workplace violence statistics below.

8. 30,000 – that’s how many sexual assaults at the workplace are reported by women annually.

(What to Become)

Violence against women is, depressingly enough, nothing new. 

From inappropriate comments to straight-up rape, women face attacks when doing their job, too. 

And do keep in mind that 30, 000 is the number of the reported assaults. We don’t even want to imagine how many unreported cases are there.

To avoid such occurrences, we suggest running a background check on your colleagues. You don’t want to mingle with sexual predators.

But that’s not all.

The coronavirus seems to be making everything worse, statistics on sexual assault in the workplace show.

9. 23% of females, who have experienced sexual harassment, said things have gotten worse since the pandemic started.

(Rights of Women)

42% of the women, who have experienced some form of sexual harassment at work report it happened online.

Working at home doesn’t seem to be the solution, though. In fact, it’s making things worse.

Statistics on workplace violence show that the pandemic led to an increase or escalation of the issue. 

10. 60.4 million Americans have been bullied at their workplace.

(ISHN)

But what do we mean, when we say “bullying”?

Work sabotage. Threats. Verbal abuse. Humiliating behavior. Any form of intimidation.

Victims are often chosen because of gender, sexual orientation, or race. Lasting effects include high levels of anxiety, depression, health issues, etc.

11. 23.3% of employees say they’ve been bullied via email.

(Admissionsly)

20.2% have felt humiliated due to gossip, workplace bullying statistics show.

17.8% have been yelled at.

Again, those are just the numbers of the reported issues. How many remain under the radar, we’ll never know.

Things can sometimes get physical, too.

12. 35% of workplace violence incidents involve head injuries.

(Legal Jobs)

While attackers mainly aim at the head, workplace violence statistics also show that:

• 21% of injuries have been obtained on the upper body. 
• 14% affected the trunk.
• 7% have been targeted at the lower body.

13. As of April, there are 26 victims of workplace shootings in 2021.

(Statista)

Some more worrying stats on workplace violence. 

A mass shooting in a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado resulted in 10 victims.

In Indianapolis, there was a shooting in a FedEx warehouse. Eight people lost their lives, while five were injured.

Eight people died and one was injured in the Atlanta massage parlor shootings.

And it’s not even the middle of the year. We’re quite terrified to see what the workplace shooting statistics will look like by the end of it.

As we earlier discussed, that’s apparently not enough for most companies to establish some good safety rules.

Maybe seeing how much money they lose will do the trick?

Workplace Violence Cost

14. Workplace violence results in $130 billion lost every.

(Nationwide)

You can’t really be productive in an unsafe environment. This, combined with medical costs and lawsuits, leads to tremendous losses for businesses.

Now’s a good time to say “Better safe, than sorry”.

15. Attacks on medics cost hospitals $53.7 million a year.

(911Celluar)

Workplace violence statistics in healthcare show that medics take roughly 112.8 hours out of the hospital, due to some sort of job-related brutality. This leads to more stress for the staff that has to cover shifts and deal with aggressive patients.

The end result is $53.7 million of annual losses, and depression, burnouts, and high levels of job dissatisfaction among healthcare workers.

Wrap Up

Those statistics on workplace violence are absolutely terrifying. 

The worst part is that numbers keep rising, but companies seem vastly unprepared to handle such cases.

Familiarizing yourself with the issue is the first step. The next is doing something about it.

And the time to act is now, especially given that the pandemic is stressing people out, thus making them more aggressive.

Be safe out there!