The invisibility of violence

Abstract

This article explores the social construction of violence within the front-line context of job centres in the Employment Service (ES). The issue of violence within organizations is typically approached using positivistic methods. In contrast, this article deepens understandings of violence in organizations by using an interpretive approach. Through an analysis of data generated through an in-depth case study, this article argues that although ES front-liners experienced much of customer behaviour as violent, this high level of violence was systematically denied by the organization. In effect, the formal organization constructed violence in such a way that it was rendered invisible. This article examines not only how management, formal policies and procedures construct violence as invisible, but also the role of the staff themselves as active agents in the social construction of violence out of the workplace.