Survey examines retail employee views on workplace violence prevention

New York — Nearly 4 out of 5 retail workers have completed workplace violence prevention training, but only about half are confident they could deescalate a potentially violent situation, results of a recent survey show.

On behalf of online compliance training provider Traliant, researchers from Researchscape surveyed 528 retail workers from organizations with at least 100 employees. Of those respondents, 78% had received training on workplace violence prevention, and 56% indicated they’re “extremely” or “very” confident in their readiness to respond.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that almost 578,000 nonfatal cases of workplace violence resulting in days away from work, job restriction or transfer were recorded in 2021 and 2022. Additionally, the agency recorded 524 workplace homicides related to intentional harm from another person in 2022 – up 8.9% from the previous year.

Traliant explored various generational differences in approaching workplace violence. For example, 49% of respondents in Generation Z (born after 1996) said they’d report a situation in which they feared for their safety or that of a co-worker only if they could share details anonymously. That compared with 19% of baby boomers (born between 1946-1964) surveyed.

Other findings:

• 92% of the workers believe their employer was at least “somewhat supportive” in establishing a speak-up culture “where employees can report misconduct without fear of retaliation.”
• 38% of the Gen Zers had seen a co-worker targeted by violence in the past five years, followed by millennials (22%), Gen Xers (20%) and baby boomers (13%).
• 94% of the workers agreed that other states should develop legislation such as New York’s Retail Worker Safety Act. Signed in September, the law requires retail employers with 10 or more employees to adopt a workplace violence prevention policy.

“The retail industry is a challenging space as employees are at a higher risk for workplace violence and employers have a growing list of requirements to contend with when it comes to keeping their workers safe,” Michael Johnson, chief strategy officer at Traliant, said in a press release. “Our study identifies critical areas where retailers need to understand generational differences in the workplace so they can enhance workplace violence prevention programs and create safer work environments.”