WorkSafe Victoria has launched a new campaign encouraging Aussies to come together and stamp out violence and aggression in the workplace, including the retail industry.
According to WorkSafe claims data, 2.5% of claims relate to violent or aggressive incidents in the workplace, with many going unreported.
Meanwhile, additional data from Safe Work Australia states that the national retail trade makes up 8% of all serious claims.
Incidents can involve verbal abuse and yelling, spitting, swearing, demeaning language to gendered violence and physical assault.
WorkSafe CEO Colin Radford said the campaign's message is clear: violence or aggression in the workplace is never ok.
"Just because someone works in retail, or in volatile situations does not mean they should be exposed to work-related violence or aggression.
"As a community we need to recognise this behaviour is unacceptable, because of the crippling psychological and physical trauma it can have on the health of those subject to it.
"Violence in the workplace is never okay, no matter if you are another worker, customer or member of the public," he said.
The campaign's video shows aggressive and violent incidents from the employee's point of view, depicting the challenges faced by real workers.
According to retail crime intelligence platform Auror CEO and co-founder Phil Thomson, these incidents not only impact staff, but can also negatively affect the customer experience in-store.
"If a staff member feels unsafe working at that store then you end up with higher staff turnover.
"We've heard that staff who have experienced these incidents go to work on edge everyday because they're worried about the next time somebody's going to get aggressive towards them.
"Then, from a customer perspective, if a customer sees an incident in store they might feel unsafe about it and question if they want to shop back at that store.
"If we have a positive impact on retail crime then will have a positive impact on customer experience," he said.
Alongside its campaign, WorkSafe is also running additional education and awareness campaigns with employers to remind them of their obligations to protect workers from violence and aggression in the workplace.
This includes targeted inspection programs in the high-risk healthcare and corrections industries and the provision of new guidance for employers.