Full Text: Workplace violence appears to be on the rise, as indicated by the increasing reports in the media. In some cases, the events involve workers who have been reprimanded for their job performance, denied promotion, or been let go. Other instances arise from conflicts among co-workers. A prominent example is the OC Transpo Case in Ottawa where a worker was teased for stuttering and returned to the work site with a gun and killed four co-workers. There have also been situations where problems outside the workplace, such as a divorce or other forms of domestic or financial stress, result in violent acts at work. Perhaps the most disturbing incidents have been the high-profile shootings by disturbed students of teachers, staff, and other students at schools such as Columbine, Colorado. Generally, workplace threats fall into two specific categories - those where the intent is to intimidate and those where the intent is to actually carry out the violence. Bullies usually enact the first type. These are people that have had a great deal of success as children, and later as adults, in getting their way through threatening behaviour. They will usually back down when confronted. The second type is more dangerous because the perpetrator often does not make specific threats before taking action (although in most cases there are red flags that indicate the person is potentially violent). Definition of Workplace Violence * Behaviour that would be interpreted by a reasonable person as carrying potential for violence at the work site or against a worker *A substantial threat to harm a worker or endanger the safety or well-being of another employee *A substantial threat to destroy company property * Any act of physical assault * Abnormal behaviour that may cause emotional or physical distress to another worker Although the incidence of violent…