What are causes and who are victims of workplace violence?
Layoffs and employee terminations have long been considered a primary instigation of workplace violence. Research shows that the termination of employment itself is not the cause; however, may act as the catalyst for violence triggered by perceived injustice for the termination. Studies differ in their assessment of whether hierarchical status in the corporation has any effect on victimization. There are, however, organizational factors that have been found to increase workplace victimization: role clarity, higher workloads, and task fragmentation. Weak leadership has also been shown in areas of increased victimization, resultant of situations of workplace conflicts that go unresolved or leadership failing to establish policy for acceptable and unacceptable patterns of interaction. Conversely, highly authoritarian or bureaucratic leadership styles also are more likely to result in victimization episodes. Research has also shown that people who have low emotional stability are more like
