A suburban restaurant found itself under siege from a hostile neighbour. Lights were deliberately shone into the dining room to disrupt diners, gardens were destroyed, thugs intimidated staff, and the neighbour’s friends bombarded Google with negative reviews.
In another case, a landlord allegedly harassed a small supermarket tenant, threatening the business’s future. And of course, most hospitality operators have faced the angry customer who uses their voice and presence to intimidate staff.
Aggression is undeniably rising. So why is it happening, and how can business owners protect their teams from its psychological and operational fallout?
Why aggression is increasing
A 2022 University of Queensland study surveyed nearly 400 hospitality employees and found more than 60% had experienced sexual harassment, bullying, or racial abuse, and over 70% had witnessed it. The main perpetrators were customers.
Criminal psychologist Dr Xanthe Mallett believes COVID-19 changed social behaviour.
“This kind of social contract that we have with each other seems to have been damaged in some way,” she says.
Dr Mallett points to two drivers – the long isolation of lockdowns and the rise of online hostility. “People are communicating online now…it frees people up to behave in ways where there’s no repercussion” she explains. “I think that also feeds into this breakdown in social cohesion because they’re used to engaging in, and doing whatever they want, and saying whatever they want online”. She says.
Scott Harris, a former police officer and the founder and managing director of Workforce Resilience agrees that post-COVID aggression has increased. “People are less tolerant, less willing to listen,” he says, “and cost-of-living pressures are adding fuel to the fire.” Inspector Mark Twamley adds, “We’ve lost that art of coming together and having respectful discussions.”
Prevention over reaction
Researchers are studying both preventive and reactive strategies. While banning repeat troublemakers is obvious, many businesses are going further by using positive reinforcement to humanise interactions and using subtle design cues like lighting, scent, and visibility to diffuse tension.
But it’s when things escalate that we can feel under siege, so what practical steps can business owners take?
Inspector Twamley says that in the scenario where the neighbours are causing conflict, understanding the root cause is critical. “You’ve got to go back to the very beginning and look at why this happened in the first place,” he explains.
Sometimes, disputes between residents and venues stem from genuine grievances and may be resolved by working with your local government and taking part in mediation.
Scott, says empathy needs to guide initial conversations. “Your first conversations in these situations are critical, you’re going to set the tone for the whole engagement.”
And when safety is at risk, Workplace Protection Orders can offer legal recourse. “Protection orders aren’t perfect, but they’re another tool,” adds Inspector Twamley.
When dealing with aggressive situations, whether in person or online, you need to keep a detailed record of what is transpiring. Make sure your staff know how to write diary notes that include dates, times, people involved and behaviour observed. If there are witnesses, make a note of who they are. And whatever you do, avoid retaliation. As frustrating as it is, don’t respond to online attacks with aggression or write fake reviews to counteract the negative ones; it undermines your credibility.
Creating a culture of safety
“Psychosocial trauma is now written into WorkSafe, so that an employer has an obligation for a psychologically safe workplace.” Inspector Twamley says.
A strong culture begins with your emergency management plan, which is required by law. Begin with a risk assessment, which will identify your risks, threats and vulnerabilities, and use this to guide your processes and procedures. You will find support and templates for emergency management plans at www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au.
Make sure all of your staff are trained in the workplace procedures and have them undergo additional skills development such as resilience training to teach them valuable skills for managing difficult situations. Keep your process documents within easy access for all staff and review them regularly. “If you can’t afford face to face training, work with businesses around you to get someone in and share the cost”, Scott suggests.
Scott’s resilience and de-escalation training programs focus on communication, situational awareness, and non-negotiable safety principles. “The key message is, you go home from work safely,” he says. Responsiveness is important in these situations: “the quicker you see something that is an issue, the quicker you can change that trajectory.” He says. Scott adds that it’s management’s responsibility to build a culture of safety.
In an industry already stretched by labour shortages, rising costs and high customer expectations, bullying and intimidation pose serious threats, not only to operations but to staff wellbeing and reputation.
Being proactive, informed and prepared is the best defence against becoming a target and the strongest foundation for building a resilient, confident workplace.
As Scott says – “Your focus has to always be on the safety of people first,”
