Attackers are more likely to be customers, while harassers are usually coworkers or bosses. FBI statistics report that customers are responsible for 44% of the violent behavior that businesses experience. Strangers trigger 24% of the incidents, with coworkers the source of 20%. While former employees get a great deal of attention when they return to the workplace and commit a violent act, they actually are responsible for only 3% of the incidents. Workers in small restaurants, convenience stores, teachers and taxi drivers all have a high incidence of assault perpetrated against them.

The high degree of emotion generated by these events – we call it Critical Incident Stress – can last for a lengthy period of time, if not treated. It occurs when you leave the incident, but the incident doesn’t leave you. It stays with you. Any time another critical incident occurs, even if it is not at your workplace, it brings back the memories of prior events.

Once an event has occurred there must be critical incident response. If acute stress is not treated quickly, post traumatic stress disorder can develop, and this is much harder to treat and much more costly. One of the key tools is Critical Incident Stress Debriefing, which has been proven to reduce the negative impact of trauma and as a result lower the incidence of claims through early intervention.