THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 21, 1994 TAG: 9410210021
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A20 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Americans seem to love false crises, from global warming to the ozone layer to alar to second-hand smoke. After an initial period of alarm, common sense usually reasserts itself. Add to that list of artificial calamities the threat of ``workplace violence.''
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its first Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. The finding that homicide was the second-leading cause of death in the workplace after transportation-related accidents caused many Americans to sit bolt upright. Combined with a series of highly publicized workplace shootings - many of them at post offices - the nation thought itself in the grip of a terrifying trend. Corporations began spending money on security systems and consultants. One wrong word, people seemed to think, and the guy in the next cubicle would become a homicidal maniac.
There's only one problem: It isn't true. An unprecedented wave of workplace killings, that is. Murders of one co-worker by another do take place, of course, and they are tragic when they occur. But a study by The Wall Street Journal found that the numbers do not indicate a dramatically rising curve of workplace violence. Few workers, it seems ``go postal,'' as the consultants say.
In 1993, for instance, only 59 workplace killings out of a nationwide total of 1,063 were attributable to co-workers or disgruntled ex-employees. This was up from 45 the year before, but scarcely cause for nationwide alarm. The risk also varied dramatically from occupation to occupation. A manager or executive (other than restaurant manager) had only a one in 226,000 chance of being killed on the job. Secretaries have only a one in 370,000 chance. An engineer has only a one in 457,000 chance.
So how does homicide get to be the second-leading cause of death in the workplace? By counting every worker killed on the job for any reason. Far and away the biggest risk is simple robbery or other criminal activity. The occupations that figure most prominently in this category include cab drivers, convenience-store clerks, pizza-delivery drivers and similar occupations. There were 793 such victims in 1993. The BLS numbers also include 67 police officers killed in the line of duty, as well as 52 security guards.
Corporations will undoubtedly continue to spend inordinate amounts of time and money worrying about workplace violence. But the data indicate that the threat of violence from your fellow workers is not something that should keep you up at night. by CNB