Understanding Workplace Violence Among Young Workers in the US

Details

• Personal Author:
  Casteel C ; Myers D ; Peek-Asa, Corinne ; Rauscher, Kimberly
• Description:
  Overview: Given their predominant employment in the high-risk retail and service industries, the lack of violence prevention programs in these industries, and the fact that they may be uniquely affected by workplace violence due to their ongoing development, young workers under age 25 are a vulnerable population at risk. Method: To investigate workplace violence among this population we conducted a national telephone survey with a sample of 1,032 US working youth ages 14-24. Our goals were to estimate the prevalence of workplace violence victimization among young workers; to characterize employer-provided workplace violence prevention training received; to identify risk factors for workplace violence, and to describe the employment and educational consequences of victimization among young workers. Results: Workplace violence is common among young workers ages 14 to 24, with over half of these workers reporting one or more instances of workplace violence over the prior 12-month period. Verbal abuse and sexual harassment were the two most prevalent forms reported. Customers and co-workers were the most frequent perpetrators. Females, emerging adults (ages 18-24), and gay/lesbian/bi-sexual youth were at greater risk of being victimized. We also found that young workers are exposed to a variety of workplace violence risk factors. The presence of these risk factors demonstrates the need for proper supervision and training. This study, however, found that many young people are working without a supervisor on site and many had not been trained in key workplace violence topics. When provided, training is usually given in the first week with the most common format being meetings/discussions. In terms of impacts, we found that few young victims reported significant impacts on their work life and fewer reported impacts on their school life. Injury was also not commonly reported in this population. Therefore, most cases of workplace violence will not be detected in occupational injury surveillance systems, which should be used with caution when assessing the true magnitude of the problem of workplace violence in the young worker population. Far more common were mental health impacts which included increased stress, anxiety, and insecurity. Conclusions: Workplace violence is common among young workers yet some youth are at greater risk, thus, future research should be conducted to understand the causes of these differential risks. In the meantime, beyond establishing basic workplace violence programs and policies to protect all workers, employers need to ensure that any efforts they implement be understood by young employees. Ideally, employers who have a large number of young workers should consider providing age-appropriate training that is specifically targeted toward them. Our finding that sexual harassment is not unique to adults warrants action in the practice and policy arenas. Stakeholders need to ensure that any sexual harassment policy or legislation takes into account that workers of all ages are at risk and need to be protected. Practice professionals are also encouraged to redesign current adult-focused workplace violence and sexual harassment prevention programs, and/or develop new age-appropriate programs to help reach young workers. This is particularly needed to better protect our youngest, teenage workers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mental Health Occupational Health Safety Sex Characteristics Violence Workplace
• Keywords:
  Abuse Gender Factors Psychological Effects Retail Workers Service Industries Teenagers Violence Prevention Workplace Violence Young Workers
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  Idaho ; Iowa ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 7 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-42
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063738
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2022-100464
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R01-OH-010928, 2019 Dec; :1-42
• Contact Point Address:
  Kimberly Rauscher, ScD, MA. Associate Professor, Department of Community and Environmental Health, Boise State University, 950 S. Lusk Street, HSRV Room 111,Boise, ID 83725
• Email:
  kimberlyrauscher@boisestate.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Performing Organization:
  West Virginia University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20150930
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20180929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f7fbd4ed11caba24f3043a97fa0e9bbda6989f236ab17d806ebf1fc26295091a46e4536e97238f3e40c686b3c4d126585822646c7a1fb53f6ad3adcb915061bd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/219081/cdc_219081_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.03 MB ]