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Workplace aggression is more common than many people realise, particularly in sectors where employees interact daily with residents, service users, patients, visitors or members of the public. This includes housing providers, community workers, social care professionals, healthcare staff and public sector employees. In this blog, we explore how organisations can better protect employees from workplace aggression. From rapid alarm activation and effective incident response to establishing safer workflows and processes, every element contributes to a safer working environment.
At Ascom, we see safety not only as an operational challenge, but as a shared responsibility. That's why we believe in solutions that connect people, processes and technology, enabling organisations to respond more quickly when it matters most.
Frontline workers regularly face challenging and, at times, unsafe situations. HSE data estimates that 329,000 workers experienced violence at work in 2024/25. Frontline occupations, including healthcare, transport and other public-facing professionals face some of the highest risks.1
This is reflected in the NHS, where the 2025 NHS Staff Survey found that 25.25% of staff experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from patients, relatives or members of the public, and 14.47% experienced physical violence in the previous year. These incidents highlight the need for solutions that help staff quickly raise an alarm and receive assistance when every second counts.2
Many situations can escalate unexpectedly. A meeting with a service user that becomes confrontational. Residents in shared accommodation who come into conflict with one another. An unforeseen situation during a home visit. It is this unpredictability that makes workplace aggression particularly challenging.
The effects rarely end when the immediate situation is over. Incidents can have a lasting impact on employees' sense of safety, wellbeing and confidence at work. This can create a ripple effect across the organisation. Staff may experience increased stress, take more sick leave, become reluctant to work alone or even choose to leave their role altogether.
Fred Koffijberg, Senior Sales Consultant at Ascom, explains: ""When employees feel they are left to deal with difficult situations on their own, it affects their confidence. We often see people avoiding risks, taking more sick leave or ultimately leaving the organisation. Many of these situations can be prevented when the right support is in place."
Workplace aggression cannot always be prevented. It often stems from frustration, uncertainty or heightened emotions. What organisations can influence, however, is how quickly and effectively they respond.
Incidents are more likely to escalate when employees cannot easily raise an alarm, when responsibilities are unclear or when communication is fragmented across multiple systems.
Fred Koffijberg: "The goal is not simply to provide assistance when something goes wrong. The real objective is to prevent escalation. The sooner the right people understand what is happening, the greater the opportunity to de-escalate the situation before it develops into a serious incident."
One important development is the growing focus on personal safety solutions and real-time incident communication. This extends beyond simply providing an alarm button. It involves creating a complete safety workflow that enables employees to raise an alert instantly, automatically notify the appropriate responders, share location information and communicate during the incident.
Without this connected approach, an alarm remains an isolated action. With effective integration, it becomes part of a broader staff safety strategy.
Smart workflows can also support incidents beyond workplace aggression. Consider a fire alarm system. In many buildings, alarms trigger an immediate evacuation response. However, in some situations, such as early indications of smoke, organisations may prefer to notify designated response teams first so they can assess the situation before a full evacuation is initiated.
By designing intelligent workflows, organisations gain greater control and flexibility, allowing safety processes to be aligned with their specific operational risks and requirements.
In many organisations, notifications still arrive through multiple disconnected systems. Staff may carry a radio for communication, a pager for alerts, a DECT handset for telephony, a smartphone for specific applications and, in some cases, a separate personal alarm device. The challenge is not necessarily the number of systems, but the lack of integration between them.
Incidents may be reported, but information does not always reach the right people quickly enough. Systems operate independently, response procedures differ between teams and critical information can be missed.
Fred Koffijberg : "Many organisations have accumulated different devices and communication systems over time. That's understandable. However, it does not always lead to faster or more efficient communication. By combining functions intelligently, organisations can often achieve the same objectives with fewer devices and less complexity."
An effective approach requires an integrated workflow in which alerts are automatically routed, communications reach the appropriate responders immediately, and incident management and reporting are connected within a single process. This is where technology plays an important supporting role, not as an end in itself, but as a tool to help organisations respond faster, improve coordination and reduce the risk of errors.
Technology should not replace policy, training or organisational culture. Instead, it should facilitate fast, reliable communication and support effective incident management.
By integrating alarm management, location awareness, communication tools and existing systems, organisations can create a connected safety ecosystem. Employees no longer need to decide who to call or which device to use during a high-pressure situation.
Examples include:
The result is not only a faster response when incidents occur, but also a stronger sense of safety, confidence and reassurance among employees.
Because when people feel safe at work, they are better able to focus on delivering the services that matter most. And ultimately, that benefits the entire organisation.
1 Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Violence at work 2024/25.
2 NHS England, Violence prevention and reduction: NHS Staff Survey 2025