One in seven HR staff face violence at work

Violence in the workplace is becoming increasingly prominent with one in seven HR staff reporting they have felt physically threatened at work.

The study from MetLife Employee Benefits shows that 47% of HR departments have seen an increase in the number of disputes among staff over the past two years as stress in the workplace became a major concern. 56% of HR departments admit stress has increased in their organisation.

Disputes among staff are not confined to junior employees – 26% of HR departments say they have had to mediate in fall-outs between senior management while 27% have had to deal with bust-ups among employees.

Tom Gaynor, Employee Benefits Director of MetLife UK, said HR needed to act on the issue.