From worry to security: Constructing a tradition that stops office violence

Professional insights on constructing a risk-aligned compliance roadmap for 2026

As headlines about office shootings, retail assaults, and rising public hostility dominate the information cycle, security fears are reshaping how workers present as much as work, how they interact with their roles and the way safe they really feel doing their jobs.

Traliant’s second annual 2025 Worry Issue Survey Report reveals a troubling rise in office violence:

30% of respondents stated they’ve witnessed violence within the final 5 years (up from 25% in 2024).
15% of respondents stated they’ve been instantly focused (up from 12% in 2024).

Carried out in June 2025, the net survey encompassed greater than 1,000 US employed adults working in hospitality, healthcare, retail, industrial/manufacturing, workplace/skilled settings, and in different industries with 100+ workers.

Survey outcomes additionally replicate an erosion of psychological security at work, significantly amongst youthful employees, who really feel much less assured of their capacity to de-escalate tense conditions. Simply 60% of workers surveyed stated they’d report security considerations with out anonymity, suggesting a worry of retaliation.

Authorized momentum meets worker expectations

Whereas the authorized panorama is shifting to deal with these realities — as seen in New York and California’s latest legal guidelines, OSHA necessities and healthcare {industry} rules — 93% of these surveyed say they assist office violence prevention legal guidelines throughout all states.

“The survey findings ought to function a wake-up name for organizations nationwide,” stated Bailey Whitsitt, Compliance Counsel at Traliant. “Security can’t be a check-the-box initiative — it should be a cultural precedence. The trail ahead to lowering violent office incidents begins with coaching that equips workers not simply to reply, however to acknowledge and stop hurt earlier than it occurs.”

When requested if their employers are doing sufficient to maintain individuals secure, virtually 90% of workers answered “no” in our survey. They stated they need employers to do extra to guard them at work, together with:

Extra visibility and entry to emergency motion plans and procedures (49%)
A speak-up tradition the place reporting is inspired (49%)
In-person drills (42%) and on-line coaching (37%)

Employers have a golden alternative to paved the way. A well-designed office violence coaching program equips workers with the abilities, confidence, and consciousness to defuse tense conditions, stop violence earlier than it occurs, and reply safely when it does. For instance, de-escalation needs to be a key coaching focus ─ particularly within the hospitality and retail segments the place incidents of violence are highest. in addition to addressing silent threats just like the worry of retaliation. Coaching also needs to addressing silent threats just like the worry of retaliation and the way to reply to an energetic shooter state of affairs.

Encouraging progress: Corporations are taking motion

Traliant’s Worry Issue survey discovered that extra firms are taking motion to stop office violence:

85% of surveyed workers stated their employer has a office violence prevention plan in place, in comparison with 76% in 2024.
75% of respondents have taken formal office violence prevention coaching — a 5% improve in coaching participation over the previous 12 months.

Nonetheless, employers can do extra by delivering coaching that:

Builds confidence, not simply compliance. Give youthful workers interactive, real-world eventualities that strengthen judgment and readiness.

Targets industry-specific dangers. Substitute generic packages with coaching that displays the distinctive challenges frontline employees face versus workplace employees.

Creates psychological security. Equip leaders to mannequin openness, encourage reporting, and reply transparently so workers really feel secure talking up.