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By: Dan B.
When one thinks of workplace violence, images of an insane
shooter often come to mind. This is actually pretty rare as
far as workplace violence goes and technically workplace violence
includes any sort of physical or verbal assault. Of course,
having said that, I go to work every day to a building with
bullet holes in the wall…
The most common, but perhaps most error-prone, method of
predicting workplace violence (of any kind) is known as profiling.
This involves a list of “typical” characteristics that are
supposed to represent indicators of violent behaviors. Although
I’ll include such a list in this article, as a manager or
co-worker, you should realize that there is a lot more that
goes into making a true threat assessment than checking off
items on a list. In particular, when assessing the behaviors
of an individual, your assessment must be made from objective
facts and observable behavior, not inferred traits. Likewise,
any information about the behavior of an individual should
be collected from more than one source (And this is why it
is so important for coworkers and managers to come forward
with their concerns. Although this may feel like tattling
– you are probably not the only one who has a concern and
the more people that share their factual observations of an
individual’s behavior, the more accurate the threat assessment
is likely to be). In the ideal world, assessment information
is gathered not only from the workplace environment, but outside
of that as well.
A threat assessment is based upon the belief that targeted
violence is not a spontaneous event, and that there is a difference
between making a threat and being a threat. For instance,
a substantive verbal threat would be a threat that includes
things such as specific plausible details, repetition of the
threat over time or to multiple individuals, communicating
the threat as a plan and physical evidence of intent to carry
out the threat such as a weapon or a written list of victims.
A list of characteristic behaviors that may indicate potential
for violent behavior is below. Notice that some of these are
more subjective than others, and that none of them are any
sort of crystal ball guarantee that someone will commit violence.
· Acting out on violent impulses, yelling, threatening,
stomping, etc.
· Chronically angry.
· Not taking responsibility for their own behavior.
· Assumes the worst in others.
· Controlling and inflexible.
· Self centered.
· Fixation on an idea (including violence or weapons)
or individual.
· Identifies with others who commit violence.
· Mixed messages – says one thing but acts differently.
· Suddenly acts out of character.
· Uses drugs and/or alcohol.
· Hopelessness.
· Attendance problems.
· Deterioration of work performance.
· Refusal to cooperate with authorities.
· Unwanted sexual comments.
· Sees self as being victimized.
· Attempts to recruit others to their personal grievance
cause.
· Coworkers are afraid of them.
· There have recently been news stories about other
major acts of
violence. (This is a characteristic of the environment, not
the
individual).
· They monitor the behavior of other workers closely.
· Verbal threats.
People may commit violence in the workplace to avenge a perceived
wrong, bring attention to a (personal) problem, end personal
pain (be killed), or achieve notoriety (which is why recent
published incidents of violence can be a contributing factor
to consider). People most likely to commit violence tend to
be people in pain, people in rebellion, or people with a weak
ego. Ultimately though, rather than trying to judge the other
person, to predict whether someone really poses a threat,
you must try to see the world through their perspective. Ask
yourself: Do they feel justified in using violence? Do they
see alternatives to using violence? Do they believe the consequences
of using violence will be favorable? Do they have the means
to use violence?
In terms of preventing workplace violence, there really is
a substantial amount that can be done. There are three elements
that come together to create violence in the workplace. These
are: the employee, the stimulus, and management’s response
to the employee’s behavior. Both the stimulus (the stated
cause of the behavior) and the behavior itself should be addressed,
but as separate issues if possible. If an employee is exhibiting
several of the characteristics listed above, management should
intervene before the situation escalates. Make it clear to
the employee that such behavior is unacceptable. Then, attempt
to find a mutually satisfactory solution to the stimulus that
initiated the behavior. If no solution can be found, an employee
may need to be placed on leave, or terminated. Often, professional
counseling can be an effective method to prevent further escalation.
There are a variety of legal and documentation issues that
must be addressed in these situations, which the companies’
HR management should be familiar with.
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