Latest posts
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Why do workplace bullies get away with it?
Why do workplace bullies get away with it? It’s a question I’ve been asked many times over the years. And it’s usually asked with a sense of frustration. Sometimes anger. Sometimes disbelief. People see behaviour that they believe is clearly unacceptable. They report it. They raise concerns. They seek help. And yet the behaviour continues.…
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Your de-escalation training is failing
Why De-escalation Training Isn’t Enough Most conversations about workplace aggression and violence start at the point where escalation has already occurred. The person is angry. The interaction is difficult. Emotions are elevated. The question becomes: How do we calm things down? It’s an important question. But it may not be the most important question.…
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Gender Differences in Occupational Violence and Aggression: Prevalence, Patterns, Risk Factors and Implications for Workplace Violence Prevention
Research report Executive summary Occupational violence and aggression, often referred to as OVA, workplace violence, work-related violence, workplace aggression, occupational aggression, client-initiated violence, customer aggression, patient aggression, third-party violence, verbal abuse, threats, harassment, bullying, mobbing, sexual harassment, gender-based violence, intimidation, physical assault and psychosocial harm, is a major workplace health and safety issue across healthcare,…
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Systems‑Based OVA Training Frameworks: The new age of OVA training
Occupational Violence and Aggression (OVA) is no longer a “frontline problem.” It is a whole‑of‑organisation risk that requires a structured, prevention‑led, and evidence‑informed capability framework. Traditional OVA training models — often adapted from policing, security, or generic customer‑service programs — focus heavily on in‑the‑moment techniques while overlooking the organisational, environmental, and leadership factors that create…
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Rethinking Occupational Violence Prevention: The PACER OVA Framework
Occupational violence and aggression (OVA) remains one of the most persistent and complex safety challenges facing organisations today, particularly those delivering frontline regulatory, health, council, and community services. Too often, organisational responses are reactive: focused on incident reporting, post-event debriefs, and individual resilience. While these matter, they don’t address the systemic conditions that allow risk…
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Why Leaders Must Treat Workload as a Violence & Bullying Prevention Control
Work-related violence is often discussed as a people problem. Leaders hear about difficult clients, aggressive patients, bullying colleagues, and “bad behaviour.” Those factors matter, but they are not the full story. Violence risk is also shaped by how work is designed, resourced, and led. One driver keeps showing up in the research, and it is…
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Body Warn Cameras – Are They a Risk Control or a Risk Factor?
Body Warn Cameras (BWC) are a commonly used frontline risk control for occupational violence and aggression risks. On the surface, it makes sense – if a person is being filmed, then they’re less likely to be violent. But is that true? Research doesn’t support that conclusion. In fact, several studies suggest that the wearing of…
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Factors contributing to work-related violence: a systematic review and systems perspective
This is the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) of the article published in Safety Science. This version has not undergone journal copyediting, formatting, or typesetting. The final published version is available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2022.105859 Published CitationSheppard, D. M., Newnam, S., Louis, R. M. S., & Perrett, M. S. (2022). Factors contributing to work-related violence: A systematic review…
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Can a Strong Workplace Violence Prevention Climate Prevent Occupational Violence and Aggression?
Workplace violence, ranging from verbal harassment to physical assaults, represents a serious occupational hazard in many industries. In response, researchers have increasingly focused on the concept of workplace violence prevention climate, which refers to employees’ shared perceptions of their organisation’s policies, practices, and commitment to preventing violence (Spector et al., 2007). This construct is modelled…
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How Management Commitment and Safety Climate Reduce Workplace Violence
In the high-stakes environment of state-run residential addiction treatment centres, the safety of both staff and clients is paramount. Yet, workplace violence remains a significant concern, with incidents ranging from verbal threats to physical assaults. Can management commitment and safety culture play a pivotal role in preventing such violence? A research summary of:Lipscomb J, London…