Violence Prevention

Workplace violence includes things like threats, physically intimidating actions such as getting in your face, throwing things, brandishing a weapon, causing physical harm, assaults and sexual assaults.

Saskatchewan Occupational Health & Safety Regulations define workplace violence as the attempted, threatened or actual conduct of a person that causes or is likely to cause injury, and includes any threatening statement or behaviour that gives a worker reasonable cause to believe that the worker is at risk of injury.

In federally regulated workplaces the Canada Occupational Health & Safety Regulations apply. They define workplace violence as any action, conduct, threat or gesture in the workplace that can reasonably be expected to cause harm, injury or illness to an employee.

Like harassment, workplace violence can stem from interactions with a co-worker, supervisor or manager, employer, employee, client, customers, patients, students and others.

Workplace violence includes psychological violence through behaviours such as teasing and bullying.

Workplaces considered to be at added risk for violence, include…

• certain health care facilities
• pharmacies
• educational institutions
• police and correctional services
• other law enforcement and security services
• crisis centres and intervention services
• late-night retail operations
• financial services
• taxi and transit services
• establishments that serve or sell alcohol