Workplace Violence: Exploring the Dangers for Air Force Leadership

The repeated occurrences of workplace violence throughout society today require the Air Force to evaluate its own workplaces and determine if a threat exists. This research explored violence in the workplace and established the possibility that workplace violence can affect the Air Force. Additionally, Air Force Climate Assessment Surveys were evaluated to find information that could be useful in detecting early warning signs of potential workplace violence. A number of examples of violence that occurred within Air Force workplaces highlighted the threat for Air Force leadership. With over 1,680 incidents of workplace violence reported to the AFOSI in a 5-year period, Air Force leadership needs a method to predict dangerous environments and a plan to reduce the dangers of incidents of violence. Current research indicated that workplace climate surveys are an effective means of detecting warning signs of a potential perpetrator of workplace violence. The analysis of Air Force Climate Assessment Surveys determined that the Air Force could use their current survey to detect warning signs of an unstable work environment. By focusing on ten items of the standard Air Force survey, trends in favoritism, inequity, and poor supervision may be detected early enough to reduce the potential of violence.Air Force Inst of Tech Wright-Patterson AFB OH is the author of 'Workplace Violence: Exploring the Dangers for Air Force Leadership' with ISBN 9781423552987 and ISBN 1423552989.