Violence in the workplace - Gender similarities and differences

Mass media, business, security, and government publications routinely highl ight the incidents of workplace violence, yet little research has examined these incidents for gender similarities and differences. Using data from th e 1992-1996 National Crime Victimization Survey, it is found that gender di fferences, more so than similarities, are characteristic of workplace viole nce. Specific types of jobs placed females more at risk of experiencing a v iolent incident than males in the same types of jobs: more robberies were c ommitted against females employed at teaching institutions and in law enfor cement and retail, and more simple assaults were committed against females in law enforcement and the transportation professions. In those incidents w here an injury occurred, females lost more time from work. Several explanat ions for these results and directions for future research are offered. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.