At least one serious crime was experienced in the past year by half the workplaces interviewed in a study by Victim Support.
Of the 20 organisations that participated in the study, 11 had experienced a serious crime, including armed robbery or physical assault. Weapons used included shotguns, knives, blunt instruments, syringes, screwdrivers, hammers and even furniture.
Staff in all 20 workplaces said they had received some form of verbal abuse or intimidation in the past year, according to Ms Ann Meade of Victim Support. The abuse came from customers and members of the public, she said.
Three companies said this abuse happened on a daily basis, with staff being spat at, and stones thrown at drivers' windows.
The study included companies involved in the manufacturing, retail, financial and leisure industries, as well as the public sector.
It was confined to Dublin but a second study will now be carried out around the State to see if the results are similar. Victim Support dealt with 76 cases of workplace crime last year. Many of these offences were in Dublin but some involved rural post offices.
Ms Meade said the survey results were surprising "but we had a very good inkling that this was going on". She said crime at home or in the workplace was particularly upsetting because people believed they were safe in these environments.
In one case, a customer was held with a shotgun to her head until staff handed over cash.
Two cases involved security men being held with knives to their throats while cash was being handed over.
A female member of staff was assaulted by a male customer because she would not give him her personal phone number.
In another case, a man put a screwdriver to a shop worker's face and told her to open the till.
Victim Support is now drawing up a package of supports for workers affected by crime. It plans to pilot the project with a sample group of companies later this year.
