Examining workplace violence as it unfolds: Toward a video-based microsociological approach

Purpose
Research on workplace violence has predominantly focused on individual, organizational, and situational risk factors associated with employee victimization. However, limited attention has been paid to the interactional processes that shape workplace violence events despite microsociological theories and evidence underscoring the critical role of face-to-face interactions in conflict situations. This paper proposes a microsociological approach to better understand how workplace encounters escalate into acts of victimization.

Design/methodology/approach
To exemplify the value of a microsociological approach, we analyze body-worn camera footage of a work situation that escalates into aggression between a ticket inspector and a bus passenger without a valid ticket. Using qualitative process analysis, we examine how interactional dynamics involving status and emotions shape the step-by-step progression of this high-risk encounter.

Findings
We demonstrate how the imposition of a fine transforms the inspector–passenger interaction into a status negotiation, with passenger aggression emerging in response to the inspector’s exercise of authority. Moreover, the inspector's emotion management plays a key role in preventing the situation from escalating further into mutual displays of anger and aggression. This case illustrates how a micro-interactional analysis of risky work situations can reveal the mechanisms of violence and inform situational prevention strategies.

Research limitations/implications
We provide methodological and theoretical guidance for incorporating microsociological analysis into workplace violence research.

Originality/value
This study demonstrates how a microsociological approach, grounded in a novel video-observational method, yields unique insights into the interactional dynamics that causally shape incidents of workplace violence.