Expresses extreme opinions and attitudes. Makes veiled, direct or conditional threats. Increasingly argumentative/uncooperative. These are just some of the precursors to workplace violence.
For example, these are some of the alleged facts floating around after the Ft. Hood tragedy:
Even though he was a committed part of the armed forces, Nidal Malik Hasan had been harassed about being a Muslim in the years after 7/11. A devout Muslim, he had spent years listening to horror stories of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and had developed a strong opposition to both wars. Even though he had spent years seeking a discharge from military service – to the point of offering to repay the cost of his medical training and warning officials that, in order to avoid "extreme incidents," they should release Muslims from the army as conscientious objectors – he was in the preparation stage of deployment to Afghanistan. More recently, he had gotten into frequent anti-war arguments with others in the armed services. On Thursday, November 8, he opened fire at a Fort Hood Soldier Readiness Center, killing 13 soldiers and wounding 31 others.
To a person, no one interviewed said they predicted Hasan’s massacre. Yet, from the illumination of hindsight, it is easy to see how the accumulation of perceived hostilities, slights, and hurts stoked the fires of resentment until something – perhaps Hasan’s imminent deployment - tipped the boiler over.
Risk Factors and Red Flags: No One Knows What They Are
In most workplace violence incidents, what initially appears to be a spontaneous violent outburst is better characterized as the result of a slow burn, which is part of a long process of dealing with, or failing to deal with, an accumulation of unresolved problems or multiple stressors.
In fact, over eighty percent of the time, warning signs are present. Some warning signs are relatively straightforward, such as being chronically irritable, impatient, short-tempered, argumentative or sarcastic. Fellow employees may report that there is frequent conflict, or increased tension or lack of cooperation. There might also be increased absenteeism or tardiness.
The problem? The workforce doesn’t know what they are. A 2003 study by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses found that, when given a list of "red flag" behaviors, less than 4% of respondents were able to identify some of the most common warning signs usually seen in potential offenders.
More than 70% of U.S. workplaces do not have a formal program or policy addressing workplace violence, according to a survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). More than 7.4 million U.S. employers, employing more than 128 million workers, participated in the survey- making it one of the largest and most comprehensive workplace violence surveys to date. The survey also revealed that nearly 80% of companies provide no training for workplace violence prevention in spite of the fact that this training can be easily integrated into other compliance topics.
Supervisors Can Be Negligent in Workplace Violence Incidents
Often managers assume that the one responsible for hiring the individual—an HR director or recruiter—is to blame in the wake of a violent incident. In reality, an employee's direct supervisor is in a better position to deal with problems. They are the ones who know which employees have anger problems, are acting strangely, or who are carrying a grudge.
Supervisors should be trained in how to manage employees who show “inappropriate workplace aggression” –– conduct that will continue to escalate unless appropriate disciplinary action is taken. Training should also teach employees how to deescalate aggressive behavior and immediate steps to take in case of an incident of violence.
Not only can proper training of employees and supervisors prevent an incident of horrible tragedy from occurring, but also it can be used as a legal defense should an incident occur. Employers who show they have acted prudently to protect their employees by conducting training will likely avoid multimillion-dollar jury awards finding that the employer was negligent or an assessment of punitive damages.
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