To Report or Not To Report: Why Don't We Report Workplace Violence?

Introduction: Workplace violence events are increasing, but most are not reported. Lack of consequence for perpetrators is a key reason for not reporting these events. There is a strong association between being a victim of workplace violence and resulting anxiety, depression and burnout. This is associated with an increase in medical errors, intent to leave and turn over. Notably, victims are not routinely referred to emotional support resources. Perceived organizational support can decrease burnout and intention to leave. The goal of this study was to determine the incidence of workplace violence in a university hospital emergency department and why staff chose to report or not report workplace violence events.

Methods: An eleven-question anonymous online survey was developed by modifying the Bureau of Labor Statistics Workplace Violence Prevention Survey. It was sent by email to all emergency department staff at South Shore University Hospital Emergency Department to assess staff experience of workplace violence events. The survey was emailed weekly for three weeks from July 13, 2025 to August 2, 2025.

Results: The survey rate of return was 38.7%. Seventy-four unique responses were received (Attendings n =14, Residents n = 3, RNs n = 37, ACPs n = 8, SNAs n = 13). Most respondents were 30 - 39 years old. 85.1% of participants reported being victims of workplace violence. 36.5% of cases involved verbal violence, 6.4% physical violence, and 61.9% reported both physical and verbal violence. Only 47.6% of those affected by workplace violence reported it. Participants were able to check multiple responses regarding why they did not report the event. The top three reasons for not reporting were lack of consequences for the person involved (61%), not needing medical attention (48.8%), and not having enough time during the shift (39%). Other responses included workplace violence is just part of the job (31.7%), it was only verbal (29.3%), there was no physical damage (26.8%) and I didn’t know that I should report (22%). 90.3% of respondents were not referred to emotional support resources

Conclusion: Workplace violence events are increasing in the healthcare and public communities. Many reasons account for why most events are not reported. It is important to report workplace violence to understand of its’ frequency and refer healthcare workers to emotional support resources.