Implementing Zero Tolerance Policies: Balancing Strict Enforcement with Fair Treatment‪.‬

Introduction Workplace violence in the United States is not new. However, organizational interest in preventing workplace aggression and violence is relatively new. In the late 1980s, there were several highly publicized workplace homicides. By the early 1990s, they had captured the country's attention and were a major concern for management. As employers considered this problem, researchers reported that the threat of workplace murder, although highly publicized, was just "the tip of the iceberg" (Baron and Neuman, 1996; Neuman and Baron, 1998). It became apparent that aggressive behaviors, such as sexual harassment, intimidation, bullying, verbal abuse, sabotage, vandalism, and fighting were widespread in many organizations. Despite this growing recognition, recent publications continue to express concerns regarding the ability of organizations to deal effectively with these inappropriate behaviors (e.g., Kidwell and Martin, 2005; Feeney, 2003; Grossman, 2002). According to a recent report, 80% of respondents indicated that workplace violence is a bigger problem today than two years ago, but only 15% of companies had increased spending to deal with this issue ("Workplace Violence Increasing," 2005).