VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACES IN FINLAND

The aim of this study was to describe violence in Finnish workplaces b y comparing it with leisure-time violence. The data were derived from 13,762 interviews made from a representative sample of the Finnish pop ulation in 1988. The subjects were asked to report all the violent inc idents they had encountered during the previous 12 months. There were 394 victims of violence in workplaces, that is, 40.6 victims per 1,000 workers. The rate of occupational violence was almost identical for m ales (40.6) and females (40.5). The most hazardous occupations were pr ison guard, police officer, and mental health nurse. The main reasons for violence at work were related to refusal of an authority's order t o go away or to the relationship between doctor or nurse and patient. A typical assailant was an unaccompanied man who was under the influen ce of alcohol. (C) 1997 National Safety Council and Elsevier Science L td.