Each year, thousands of employees are the victims of workplace violence.

More than 20,000 private industry workers experienced nonfatal workplace violence in 2020, according to a 2024 report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Of those, 22% required 31 or more days away from work to recover and another 22% involved 3-5 days off of work. Even more sobering, nearly 400 U.S. employees died from workplace homicide in 2020, according to NIOSH.

That’s why de-escalation in the workplace is so important. The technique is vital when confronted with violent or aggressive behavior.

According to professionals , de-escalation means “transferring your sense of calm and genuine interest in what an individual wants to tell you by using respectful, clear, limit-setting boundaries.” In short, de-escalation is the process of managing someone else’s behavior with your own.

Workplace violence can take many forms, including any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation and other threatening disruptive behavior.

Industries and de-escalation

Two industries more likely to see workplace violence are educational services and health care and social assistance.

SFM’s own claims data from 2019 through 2023 showed that those two industries accounted for about 95 percent of such incidents. In the health care field specifically, employees are five times as likely to experience workplace violence as other types of workers.

See additional SFM resources for de-escalation.

De-escalation tactics

While specific threats vary among industries, Jason Clausen, a Loss Prevention Specialist at SFM, said many de-escalation tactics apply universally.

“These tactics all require a state of calm, and operate around the cornerstone of active listening,” he said.

General de-escalation tactics that apply universally include:

• Respecting personal space
• Maintaining safe body positioning
• Giving clear, concise direction
• Setting obvious boundaries
• Conveying empathy
• Establishing positive tone of voice

Safety programs

Beyond de-escalation tactics themselves, employers can also take steps to mitigate workplace violence by crafting safety programs.

Generally, building a successful safety program involves four steps.

1. Set safety goals

Focus on safe behaviors rather than risky ones. Choose goals that relate to safety indicators — such as de-escalation training sessions.

The best behaviors to observe are those that will prevent injuries from happening. Review your injury records to look for any trends. This will give you a place to start.

2. Use positive recognition

When you’re observing workplace safety, take the time to recognize employees who follow proper protocols. This can be done verbally, or you can consider some sort of reward program.

3. Get employees involved

Encourage workers to participate, give them roles and give them the freedom to discuss safety challenges and successes with others.

4. Respond to employee concerns

If you have employees reporting safety concerns to you that go unanswered, the program will lose momentum, as well as credibility.

Create an environment in which employees feel comfortable bringing safety issues to their superiors and won’t fear reprisal for making suggestions. Also encourage leadership to demonstrate their support of your safety program.