Violence in the workplace
Workplace violence generally refers to acts or threats of physical violence, harassment, intimidation or other threatening behaviour that occurs at the worksite, whether the perpetrator is a client, patient, student, customer, co-worker or family member. IWH research focuses on the prevention of workplace violence at both the workplace and systems (policy) levels.
Journal article
Journal article
Assault predicts time away from work after claims for work-related mild traumatic brain injury
Published: Occupational & Environmental Medicine, May 2019
At Work article
Workplace violence against women rising, driven by growing rates in education sector
Men working in health care were once the group most at risk of workplace violence. These day, it's women working in education who face the highest risks of being assaulted on the job.
Published: April 2019
IWH in the media
Women four times more likely to experience sexual assault at work
Violence-related injuries at work are on the rise across Canada and this is especially the case for women, according to two recent studies conducted at the not-for-profit Institute for Work and Health, writes IWH Senior Scientist Dr. Peter Smith.
Published: The Conversation, January 2019
Journal article
Journal article
Gender differences in injuries attributed to workplace violence in Ontario 2002-2015
Published: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, January 2019
IWH in the media
Women in education sector at greater risk of workplace violence
Women working in Ontario’s education sector are four to six times more likely than their male counterparts to require time off work because of being physically assaulted on the job, reports the Canadian Occupational Safety.
Published: Canadian Occupational Safety, August 2018
News release
News release
Risk of workplace violence increasing among women in Ontario’s education sector
Published: August 2018
At Work article
Sex/gender analysis: Are risks of violence at work higher for men or women? It depends on type of violence
Men and women face similar risks of physical violence at work, but the risks of sexual violence at work are four times higher for women than for men.
Published: August 2018
Journal article
Journal article
Examining risk of workplace violence in Canada: a sex/gender-based analysis
Published: Annals of Work Exposures and Health, July 2018
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
Reporting and consequences of workplace violence in six Ontario hospitals
We currently do not know what proportion of workplace violence incidents in Ontario are captured by each hospital’s reporting system. We also lack information on reasons for not reporting workplace violence incidents. Dr. Peter Smith of the Institute for Work & Health provides findings from a survey in late 2017 of over 1,000 workers in six Ontario hospitals on the incidence, reporting and consequences of workplace violence. He also discusses the implications of these findings on the interpretation of Ontario's new mandatory indicator of workplace violence.
Published: May 2018
At Work article
Violence prevention efforts face challenges despite commitment from hospital leaders
There has been a cultural shift in recent years when it comes to violence and aggression toward health-care workers. But despite commitment among hospital leadership to tackle the problems, prevention efforts still face several common challenges on the ground.
Published: April 2018