PREDICTING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
PREDICTING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE –
REFLECTING ON THE FORT HOOD TRAGEDY
VIOLENCE in the workplace has been a major problem in the United States for decades, but, now, since 9-11, actually, it is getting worse. Exponentially. Every conceivable type of workplace has been and is impacted by the entire continuum of violence, ranging from verbal intimidation to mass murder. But. in my opinion, though, since 0845 on 9/11, the dawn of the most pernicious act of workplace violence ever, safety in the workplace has never been so challenged, never been so shaky. And, again in my opinion, since the world’s (and, of course, ours) economy tanked a few years ago, injury and death occasioned by worker against worker is a dark, haunting and damn near imminent presence in almost every workplace.
You need not look too far beyond the Fort Hood tragedy where a psychiatric fellow and co-employee turned his insane rage against innocent soldiers and civilians, killing 13 and injuring dozens of others.
Overlooked by many who have studied this and other heinous acts of senseless mayhem is the fact that over 88% of workplace violence could be prevented if warning signs would have been observed and recognized as dangerous, and over 90% could have been avoided if someone had not only observed the impending “Red Flags,” but had actually reported it or them to an (responsible) authority figure. Course, the problem with statistics such as these fails to reveal why, more often than not, when presented with timely observations, fears and feelings about workers, supervisors, administrators and suspicious family members (Domestic Violence Spillover is a cogent factor in many catastrophic acts of violence in the workplace) way too many “authority figures and responsible persons” refuse or fail to act decisively in such a way and in such a manner that could prevent acts of violence like we say at Fort Hood!
Now, we can debate and discuss some of the obvious nuances, including but not .limited to the effectiveness of reporting cascading aggression, et al., but what I need to focus on here are some of the Cogent Warning Signs of Impending Violence in the Workplace.
- CO-EMPLOYEE HAS BEEN VIOLENT IN THE WORKPLACE, OR OUTSIDE THE WORKPLACE IN THE PAST.
- WORKER IS FASCINATED WITH AND/OR IN POSSESSION OF FIREARMS (which the Fort Hood killer was).
- WORKER IS OR HAS BEEN A SUBSTANCE ABUSER.
- THE WORKER HAS KNOWN OR SUSPECTED GRIEVANCES WITH OTHER WORKERS OR THE SYSTEM (which the Fort Hood perpetrator certainly did).
- THE WORKER HAS A RIGID, INFLEXIBLE PERSONALITY (which the perpetrator had).
- THE WORKER CAN OFTEN BE CHARACTERIZED AS HAVING A SAD AND HOPELESS OUTLOOK.
- WORKER IS CHRONICALLY ANGRY.
- WORKER MAKES STATEMENTS INDICATIVE OF DEPRESSION.
- THE WORKER SEEMS TO IDENTIFY WITH PAST SPECTACULAR ACTS OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE (would the 9/11 attacks qualify?).
- SEVERAL OR MAN Y CO-WORKERS FEEL DISCOMFORT AROUND THIS WORKER!
- THIS WORKER DEMONSTRATES SIGNS OF PARANOIA.
- WORKER HAS BROUGHT WEAPON ON TO THE JOB SITE IN THE PAST.
- WORKER RECENTLY SHOWS SIGNS OF EXTREME CHANGES IN “NORMAL” BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDE.
- THE WORKER IS “HYPER-FOCUSED.” SHE/HE IS HIGHLY FOCUSED ON THE CONDUCT, BEHAVIOR, COMINGS AND GOINGS OF OTHER WORKERS. MAY EVEN KEEP A DOSSIER ON OTHERS.
Of course, there are other “signatures of danger” that a future perpetrator of workplace violence might display, but, for the time being, because of time and space constraints, these must suffice. Allow me one caveat, though. A civil and peaceful individual may display any one, two, or maybe even three of the above traits, but, in order to adequately “profile a perpetrator, one should look for a cluster of 3 or 4 of these traits. Key Red Flags, however (I mean really red, red flags) should include:
- CHRONIC ANGER.
- CHRONIC DEPRESSION AND HOPELESSNESS.
- OTHER WORKERS FEEL DISCOMFORT AROUND HIM OR HER.
- FASCINATION WITH WEAPONS, AND
- FASCINATION WITH PAST SPECTACULAR ACTS OF WP VIOLENCE.
Stay Safe.
Hammer