Studies reveal that a huge figure of the work force, mainly women has been subjected to ‘violence’. Violence at work has been defined by Health and Safety Executive, UK as “any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work”. Violence is a broad term that includes physical assault and mental abuse inflicted on an individual or a group.

Reports of physical onslaughts at work state that some have occurred where the work involves a direct contact with the client. There have been instances where the doctors and the hospitals were attacked for the death of the patients. Such attacks whether on account of professional negligence or not, created a scare in them. This led to instances where many private hospitals refused to accept cases of emergency for fear of the attack from the bystanders. Physical violence often results in pain, disability or even death of the individuals, but on almost every occasion, leaves a mental scar in the victim’s mind.

Persistent verbal abuse is the most common type of violence at work. Continuous verbal abuse has a psychological impact on the individual. Anxiety and reduced self confidence are the initial symptoms seen in the injured party. Prolonged attack leads to depression and other psychological disorders which might end in suicides. Bullying and ganging up against an individual or a group is another way of inflicting injury on the people. Sweden had reported a 10-15% of suicides on account of ganging up during one time. Drug abuse and undue dependence on alcohol are other means resorted to for finding escape.

Women are subjected to violence within and outside the organisation. Sexual harassment towards women workforce is seen in large numbers during the recent years. Sexual harassment includes the attitude, looks, verbal or physical abuse which is unwanted by the injured party. India is considering new laws to protect women from sexual harassment. The idea of launching a Sexual Harassment at Workplace Protection Cell is under consideration where the women workforce are educated on what is included in the term “sexual harassment” before taking any action against the inflicting person. Many women fail to report such cases for fear of the consequences on the attitude of the society, family, etc towards them and other unwanted publicity. There have been many cases where the injured person was inflicted to unnecessary and unwanted publicity from the press.

Continuous abuse at the work place can lead to the decline in the self confidence of the people. The violence at the work place has a negative impact on the company revenues. The low staff morale and the reduced confidence level are reflected on the employee productivity. A low and inferior productivity reduces customer satisfaction, which can indirectly mirror on the company’s goodwill. Compensation on the settlement of disputes can reduce a measurable portion of the company profits. The unhealthy working environment can also lead to the disruption of work on account of labour turnover.

A good control and countercheck measures over the relationships within the organisation is therefore inevitable within the organisation.