Andrea is a 38-year-old nurse who works nights at the local hospital. Which of the following has been linked to workplace violence in the health-care arena?

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A wide range of factors related to specific tasks or situations and the organization of work have been identified as potential antecedents of workplace violence. Individuals working with people in need of physical or emotional care, or with substance or drug addiction, are at greater risk. Other specific high-risk tasks and situations include evening and night work, delivery of goods and services, shift work or working alone, on-location work, valuables handling, jobs that exercise physical control over others, and specific physical design features of the workplace (Chappell & Di Martino, 2006). Often, the potential for violence also arises when an employee needs to deny an individual's request, or when a request is made to do something an individual does not want to do. Conditions that may lead to higher stress levels in the workplace may include interpersonal conflicts, constant contact with the public, role ambiguity, low job control, time pressure, low-quality teamwork, and high workloads; situations such as these increase the risk of both external and internal violence. Terminations, demotions, layoffs, disciplinary actions, and unresolved or unsatisfied resolution of employee complaints and grievances are also considered contributing factors to incidents of workplace violence (Calabro & Baraniuk, 2003). For health-care providers, the quality of health care received by patients, which may include long waiting times and satisfaction with treatment, has been linked to workplace violence. Fatigue or stress resulting from high-strain work may also undermine the conflict management skills of workers, decreasing their ability to defuse potentially violent situations. Finally, workers may actually be the instigators of violent interactions due to anger or frustration caused by working under strain.

Andrea Is a 38-Year-Old Nurse Who Works Nights at the Local