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Scholarly Commons > HCA Healthcare Journal > Vol. 7 > Iss. 5 (2026)

 

Keywords

health care workers; leadership; operational factors; organizational culture; well-being; workplace violence

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

Abstract

Workplace violence in health care is often discussed as an employee safety issue, but that framing misses a larger operational reality. Violent incidents affect the individuals involved, but they also disrupt care delivery, strain teams, reduce patient safety, contribute to health care worker burnout, and expose organizational conditions that leaders cannot afford to ignore. Incident reports rarely tell the full story. In many settings, aggressive behavior becomes normalized to the point that staff stop reporting much of what they experience. This creates a false sense of awareness and visibility. This editorial argues that health care leaders should approach workplace violence not simply as a compliance or security issue, but as a broader operational and occupational well-being challenge. Communication breakdowns, long waits, overcrowding, unclear escalation processes, and inconsistent follow-up can all make already difficult situations harder to manage. Addressing workplace violence requires leadership ownership, investment, and an honest look at the environments in which these incidents occur.

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