Abstract
External/intrusive violence at work can result in psychological distress and can be an important risk to employee health and safety. However, the vast majority of workplace violence studies have employed cross-sectional and correlational research, designed to examine immediate reactions after being assaulted at work. To explore whether exposure to robbery as a traumatic event may contribute to the onset of typical symptoms of psychological distress (anxiety depression, dysphoria and loss of confidence) and job dissatisfaction over time. We collected data by using a two-wave panel design, in which employees working the days of bank robberies, in an Italian bank, filled in a questionnaire between 48h and 1 week after the robbery (T1) and 2 months after the robbery (T2). We performed structural equation models to evaluate the fit of different models to our data. There were 513 participants at T1 (58% women) and 175 (34%) participants at T2 (62% women). There was a simultaneous association in which psychological distress leads to job dissatisfaction both following robbery and 2 months later. Our findings support a synchronous effects model and suggest that interventions after suffering physical assaults, apart from helping employees to recover their health, should consider restoring their trust and confidence in the organization. This study contributes to understanding the dynamic relationships between a robbery at work and its outcomes over time, by addressing several methodological deficiencies in previous longitudinal studies.
Highlights
IntroductionWorkplace violence can take various forms (from abusive language to physical assault and homicide) and can be initiated by different actors (from employees to members of the public) [1, 2]
Workplace violence can take various forms and can be initiated by different actors [1, 2]
The employees working on the day of the bank robbery in each specific office that accepted participating in the study completed a questionnaire during work, in a room provided by the bank and in the presence of a researcher who informed each participant of the purpose of the study
Summary
Workplace violence can take various forms (from abusive language to physical assault and homicide) and can be initiated by different actors (from employees to members of the public) [1, 2]. Not the most frequent form of workplace aggression and violence, nonfatal workplace assaults are usually perpetrated by organizational outsiders [3] and can be threatening for employee health and well-being [4,5]
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