Compensation claims as a result of workplace violence have jumped by more than 50 percent over the past five years.
A new report from Safe Work Australia has highlighted an upwards trend in workplace violence and aggression.
The report estimates eight million Australians had experienced at least one incidence of violence since they were 15 years old.
“Workplace and work-related incidents account for at least 13 percent of these,” it stated.
The report found there were 176,100 workplace incidents that occurred in the past 10 years, with physical violence more likely to occur in a workplace setting than sexual violence.
“There were 53,139 accepted workers’ compensation claims for being assaulted by a person or persons, and 12,721 accepted claims for exposure to workplace or occupational violence over the last 10 years.”
Bringing together data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, People at Work survey and other sources, the report aims to provide a view of the prevalence, causes and impacts of violence in Australian workplaces.
Some of the key insights from the report include:
- Over the last 5 years, there has been a 56 percent increase in the number of serious workers’ compensation claims for assault and exposure to workplace violence.
- Despite evidence indicating workplace physical violence was a significant issue among men, there had been a 73 percent increase in workplace physical violence claims made by women, compared to a 33 percent increase in workplace physical violence claims made by men over the last 10 years.
- Clients and customers were the most common source of work-related violence.
- When it comes to specific behaviours, angry or hostile behaviour, shouting and swearing, and intimidation and insults had the highest number of reports.
