Exploring the role of age in workplace intimidation in the US restaurant industry

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between employee age and intimidation in the workplace. Dysfunctional employee behaviors such as harassment and aggression are harmful to the organizational work environment. Such destructive behaviors have long been viewed as negatively impacting organizational success. Additionally, the age dynamics in organizations are rapidly changing as the “graying of America” progresses, older workers remain in the workforce and younger workers delay employment.Design/methodology/approach The study utilizes data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which is a national database containing information on crime in the US.NIBRS was used to measure the occurrence of workplace violence overall, and workplace intimidation specifically, in the restaurant industry, as well as the ages of both victims and perpetrators of work-related violence.Findings Results revealed that younger workers are more likely to perpetrate workplace intimidation than their senior counterparts. As victim age increases, employees are more likely to report intimidation than more serious crimes.Practical implications Workplace intimidation prevention programs do not typically include age as a factor. This study may be helpful to managers and HR managers charged with developing workplace training programs.Originality/value The results of this study contribute to the shared understanding of dysfunctional workplace dynamics. As the workforce collectively ages, organizations should acknowledge the potential impact age may have on violence in the workplace.

Workplace violence and influencing factors among paramedic pre hospital paramedic personnel (city and road) in Iran: a quality content analysis

Background The goal of every emergency department is to provide the highest quality services in the shortest time using limited resources. However, occupational violence is so prevalent among pre-hospital paramedic personnel that some experts claim that it is impossible to find pre-hospital personnel without an experience of violence in the workplace. Therefore, it seems necessary to investigate the causes of violence among this population group and find ways to control it. Aim The present study aimed to investigate the Violence and influencing factors among paramedic pre-hospital personnel. Method This qualitative study was conducted to explore the views of a group of pre-hospital paramedic personnel (n = 45) selected through purposive sampling. The data was collected through in-depth and semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman’s conventional content analysis methods. The trial version of MAXQDA 16 software was used to manage the coding process. Results Based on the results of the analysis of data collected from prehospital paramedic personnel, three main categories including: human factors, organizational factors, and environmental factors and 20 subcategories were detected. Conclusion If authorities neglect violence in the workplace and do not take serious actions to prevent it, violence and, more importantly, “hostility” will gradually prevail in the workplace. It also increases the stress and anxiety of staff and consequently severely deteriorates their job performance. Hence, authorities are strongly recommended not to ignore this issue and, instead, take measures, for instance hold workshops, to train personnel about the techniques of anger and violence control.

Workplace violence among nurses and physicians in a tertiary teaching hospital in Egypt

Background Workplace violence (WPV) has been recognized as a major occupational hazard worldwide. Healthcare professions are particularly at a higher risk of WPV. Reported magnitude of WPV represents only the tip of an iceberg. The consequences of WPV in healthcare sector are dramatic; it affects the wellbeing of healthcare professions as well as the quality of the delivered service. Objective The study aimed to measure the magnitude of WPV, to identify factors associated with WPV among nurses and physicians working in a tertiary teaching hospital in Egypt. Methodology A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 114 physicians and 128 nurses were interviewed about exposure to WPV within the previous 12 months. Results The study found a high magnitude of WPV; nearly three fourth of physicians and nurses experienced violence in the workplace within the past 12 months. Female physicians experienced WPV more commonly compared to male physicians. There was a statistically significant association between type of patient nurses commonly cared for and experiencing WPV. Conclusion and Recommendations WPV among healthcare professions is an increasing problem that needs to be addressed. Increasing awareness of the problem among healthcare professions as well as the general public is warranted. Violence prevention program with a zero-tolerance policy is warranted.

Mobbing Syndrome as a Personality Disorder: The Consequences of Complicated Socialisation in the Symptoms of Occupational Destruction

The relevance of this study is conditioned by the need to identify the key preconditions and causes of increased violence in the workplace to find new methods of combating mobbing at both international and national levels. The purpose of this study is to analyse mobbing as a psychosocial and medical phenomenon, which is logical to consider with the symptoms of professional destruction. The study of mobbing syndrome took place in two stages based on synergetic methodology using such general scientific research methods as analysis, synthesis, comparison, and systematisation. The study identified the specific features of mobbing at the Ukrainian and world level. The authors considered the main causes of mobbing behaviour as a social issue, as a social phenomenon of the organisation, and as a form of collective violence. The study provides reasoning regarding the necessity of studying the mobbing syndrome from the standpoint of psychosocial and medical aspects. The authors analysed fractal dynamics of mobbing formation, presented in somatogenesis, psychogenesis, and sociogenesis. The study presents the main predictors of professional destruction, which include individual-personal, i.e., total control, manipulation, and conflict, etc., and clinical, which include emotional instability, narcissism, steroidism, and more. It is determined that the types of individual's socialisation develop in accordance with the defensive mechanisms that prevail upon restoring one's security. The study considered the specific features of the clinical aspect of personality disorder. The authors provided a general description of the narcissistic type of personality disorder as a structure of mobster. The practical value of this study lies in the interdisciplinary investigation of mobbing syndrome based on psychosocial and methodological factors

Prisons and Mental Health: Violence, Organizational Support, and the Effects of Correctional Work

Correctional workers have a high likelihood of exposure to violence in the workplace. However, empirical literature has largely neglected the mental health consequences of prison work, as well as the institutional factors that might mitigate or exacerbate these effects. To fill this gap, we employ original survey data on thousands of correctional officers to explore the effects of exposure to violence on the job. We find strong associations between violence and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide risk, as well as symptoms of depression, alcohol abuse, anxiety, and sleep disorder. Importantly, we also find a potentially protective role of institutional factors, such as the quality of perceived management and supervision. In line with the perceived organizational support (POS) model, our findings make clear that organizational support can moderate the deleterious effects of prison work.

A Combined Behavioural Economics- and Simulation-based Medical Education to Promote Effectiveness among Medical Residents in Coping with Workplace Violence in Northern China: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background: Workplace violence is internationally recognized as a major concern for the workforce, which entails serious consequences, and research shows that medical residents are more likely than other doctors to experience violence in the workplace. This study examines the effectiveness of simulation-based medical education on the one hand, and simulation-based medical education combined with behavioural economics on the other as interventions in medical residents' perception of, attitude toward, and self-efficacy in coping with violence in the workplace. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used, 190 participants having been randomised into three study groups to respectively test the effect of simulation-based medical education only and simulation-based medical education plus with behavioural economics interventions, compared with a control group. Data were obtained from structured questionnaires, including (1) a perception of aggression scale, a management of aggression and violence attitude scale, a general self-efficacy scale, and (2) sociodemographic characteristics. Results: The results show that the scores attained by simulation-based medical education (SBME) and simulation-based medical education combined with behavioural economics (SBME+BE) interventions for perception, attitude, and self-efficacy were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < .01). The SBME+BE group recorded a higher improvement in perception, which could be ascribed to the behavioural economics effect. In addition, the higher perception of workplace violence is correlated with single residents and those with more work experience, prior experiences of violence in the workplace, and training related to workplace violence. A higher positive correlation of workplace violence was recorded by female and widowed residents; and a higher level of self-efficacy related to violence in the workplace correlated with male, widowed and senior (third-year) residents. Conclusions: This study contributes important evidence regarding changes in the perception, attitude, and self-efficacy of subjects following both the SBME+BE and SBME interventions among medical residents in coping with workplace violence, the highest perception change having been recorded after the SBME+BE intervention, which can be explained by the inclusion of behavioural economics.

Working 9 to Non-Stop: The Fair Housing Act's Sexual Harassment Protections for Domestic, Agricultural, and Other Live-In Workers

Live-in workers, for whom their bosses are typically also their landlords, are often trapped in sexually harassing situations that feel as though they have no practical or legal redress, especially when the worker’s harasser can both fire and evict them in one fell swoop. This Note explores the novel possibility of using fair housing law, including the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) and state/local fair housing statutes, as a tool to provide legal protections to workers with employer-provided housing (“live-in workers”) who experience sexual harassment or violence in the workplace. There is currently very little case law in which live-in workers have brought fair housing and employment discrimination claims simultaneously, and functionally no case law in which attorneys have brought both claims for live-in worker sexual harassment cases. This Note argues that, under existing fair housing law, many live-in workers should be eligible to bring claims under the FHA and equivalent state laws that prohibit discrimination in housing. As a result, the FHA and equivalent state claims can provide sexual harassment and assault protections for workers, including domestic workers and farmworkers, who may not receive protections under federal or state employment discrimination law. Furthermore, this Note argues that the FHA can provide supplemental or stronger protections from sexual harassment for live-in workers than traditional Title VII or employment discrimination claims. It accordingly suggests that plaintiffs facing harassment or sexual assault in live-in industries should pursue fair housing claims in addition to or in place of Title VII and employment discrimination claims, in order to achieve maximum protection and relief.

The Normalization of Violence in Commercial Kitchens Through Food Media

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are 2.53 million cooks and chefs in the United States. Of those, one in four reports experiencing physical violence in the workplace—roughly 632,500 victims. While shocking, this figure fails to account for the psychological and sexual violence that also plagues commercial kitchens. Workplace harassment and bullying is not limited to the United States and has been documented in Scottish, English, Scandinavian, French, Malaysian, Korean, and Australian kitchens. Why is violence so prevalent in kitchens, and how has it become a behavioral norm? Using data from 50 in-depth interviews with kitchen workers and analysis of food media, this article shows that while kitchen workplace violence can be attributed to typical causes, such as occupational stress, there is an overlooked source: the normalization of violence through food media. By exploring television shows, like “Hell’s Kitchen,” and chef memoirs, like Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, readers will see how bullying and harassment are romanticized in these mediums, glorified as a product of kitchen subculture, and consequently normalized in the kitchen.