Violence in the United States has reached epidemic proportions (Mason 1). Increasingly, violent behavior is being observed in the American workplace (McCune 52). This research examines the phenomenon of work-related violence. An overview of the problem is followed by a discussion of possible explanations for such behavior.
             The increase in the incidence of work-related violence in the United States is characterized by behaviors that range from telephonic threats to murder (Filipczak 39-40). Homicide is now the second most common cause of on-the-job deaths in the United States. Approximately 7,000 work-related homicides occur each year in the United States (Segal 33). More than 80 percent of work-related homicides result from gun-related injuries (Windau 58-9). A general profile of the perpetrator of violent work-related acts is a white male under a high level of stress (Filipczak 39). A more specific profile narrows the age range to 30-40 years old and adds the condition that the individual is entirely dependent financially on the individual's current employment (Schut 125). Victims of work-related violence are predominately males (83 percent) between the ages of 25 and 54 years old (Windau 58-9). The proportion of American workers who have been the victims of physical attacks in connection with their employment over the span of their career is estimated at 15 percent (Lipman 15).
             Four percent of the total number of homicides in the United States are work-related (Schut 125). With respect to non-fatal violent incidents, however, 16 percent of all such incidents in the United States are work-related. Almost one million non-fatal work-related violent incidents occur each year in the United States (Friedman 4). Approximately 10 percent of these incidents involved the use of handguns (Friedman 4).
             Violence is most typically an outgrowth of conflict. By definition, conflict is simply a disagreement betw...