Workplace Violence Is Rising — Why Safety Must Become a Core Workplace Value

If you think workplace violence is a rare occurrence, the latest numbers tell a different story. A 2025 survey from Traliant found that about one in three U.S. employees has witnessed physical violence in their workplace within the past five years — up from 25% in 2024. Even more alarming, 15% said they’ve been on the receiving end themselves.

These aren’t just abstract statistics. They represent real people experiencing physical harm where they should feel safe. And what makes the findings especially troubling is that this rise is happening even as more organizations are investing in prevention training.

The Numbers Show a Clear Trend

The Traliant Employee Survey Report on Workplace Violence and Safety gathered responses from over 1,000 full-time employees across industries. It found increases not only in witnessed violence but also in direct victimization.

Training has expanded, with 75% of respondents reporting they’ve received it compared to 70% the year before. Yet, in industries like hospitality, nearly half of workers reported witnessing violence. A jump of five percentage points in a single year may not seem dramatic at first glance, but in workplace safety metrics — which tend to improve slowly — it’s a sign of deeper issues.

What’s Driving the Increase?

The survey didn’t apparently explore causes directly, but patterns in other research offer strong clues. High-stress environments, particularly in customer-facing sectors like healthcare, hospitality, and retail, tend to see more confrontations. Post-pandemic staffing shortages, heavier workloads, and tensions around return-to-office policies have likely added to the strain.

In some cases, the rise could reflect better incident reporting rather than a spike in actual events. But there’s also the reality that societal stress — economic pressure, political division, and day-to-day frustration — can spill into workplace interactions. When that happens in an environment where policies exist but aren’t consistently enforced, incidents are more likely to escalate.

Training Alone Isn’t Enough

An encouraging takeaway from the survey is that violence prevention training is becoming more common. But there’s a gap between training employees and creating a workplace where they actually feel safe.

Nine in ten employees believe their organization could still do more to address safety concerns. Thirteen percent say they feel unsafe because of workplace culture or fear of retaliation if they report incidents. When employees see leaders tolerate aggressive behavior or fail to act on complaints, formal training loses its impact.

The real challenge is ensuring that prevention is not just a course completed once a year, but a value that’s reinforced through leadership, daily behavior, and clear follow-up when problems are reported.

Building Safety into Workplace Culture

Addressing workplace violence requires more than policies and compliance checklists. Organizations that make safety part of their culture tend to combine prevention strategies with open communication and visible leadership support.

Best practices include integrating violence prevention into onboarding, offering anonymous reporting tools, using realistic scenario-based training, ensuring HR and security teams work closely together, and providing mental health resources that reduce stressors before they turn into flashpoints.

When these practices are part of everyday operations, they help create an environment where safety is understood as everyone’s responsibility — not just HR’s.

The Compliance Imperative

Beyond the human impact, workplace violence is a serious compliance issue. OSHA’s General Duty Clause requires employers to protect employees from known hazards, including violence. Some states, such as California with its SB 553 law, go further by mandating detailed prevention plans, training programs, and incident logs. Healthcare, education, and transportation sectors face even stricter regulations.

With more states expected to follow suit, companies that take proactive steps now will be better prepared to meet both moral and legal responsibilities — and will avoid scrambling to comply when new requirements are introduced.

What Lies Ahead

Looking forward, prevention will likely remain a top regulatory and operational focus. More state-level mandates are expected, and technology could play a greater role — from AI tools that flag early warning signs to virtual training designed for hybrid workforces.

Organizations that position themselves as safety-first employers may also gain a recruiting and retention advantage. In a competitive talent market, the assurance of a secure, respectful work environment can be a powerful differentiator.

Final Word

The rise in workplace violence, even alongside increased training, is a clear sign that compliance alone isn’t enough. Prevention needs to be part of the culture — championed by leadership, supported by every team, and embedded into daily operations.

When safety is treated as a core value, workplaces become more than places to earn a paycheck. They become environments where people can focus on doing their best work without worrying about their physical well-being.