Work-related violence is a seemingly growing problem everywhere.
According to a local newspaper, an officer working for the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice shot his supervisor dead while seated at his office. The officer, who was transferred from Jeddah to Taif a few months earlier, had a history of violent behavior.
On a previous occasion the same officer had repeatedly stabbed another colleague with a knife in a mosque on a Friday, critically wounding him. The newspaper added that the policeman had felt that his colleague was responsible for his transfer.
This incident is just one of many commonly occurring in Saudi Arabia, a phenomenon that forces us to question why there is this problem and what is it that motivates ordinary working people to behave in such a way.
It should be remembered that work-related violence isn’t just unique to the Kingdom; in fact violent aggressive behavior is a universal problem. According to the US Justice Department, 1.7 million people are attacked in the workplace every year. While 75 percent of such people escape with minimal injuries, 19 percent are seriously injured.
In another recent report published by the US Department of Labor, in the States a million workers are attacked at work each year and on average 20 workers die in one week alone in work-related violence.
Studies such as these are crucial in helping managers to understand how they should interact with employees. Employees that are overlooked for training, transfers and promotions can grow disillusioned, something that can create an unhealthy work environment. In scenarios such as these instead of using civilized means in dealing with problems many employees resort to radical measures of vandalizing, stealing, slandering, gossiping or, even worse, reacting aggressively.
Another study on work-related violence in the West showed that violent people live in a state of denial and refuse to acknowledge their misdoings. Rather they claim to be the true victims. When comparing Saudi Arabia to the US it is interesting to note the pleasant work environments enjoyed by employees there. How does the situation in Saudi Arabia compare?
We need to move swiftly and effectively before violence becomes a day-to-day occurrence and a sad reality. Fairness and consideration of the thoughts and feelings of workers are things that are paramount in helping us to stem this growing tide. The lack of transparency in administration and the injustices that hardworking employees see frustrate people. For some people violence becomes a solution to a problem.
