Preventing Workplace Violence

Last Sunday's tragedy here in Knoxville then Friday’s workplace shooting outside of Philadelphia brought to mind an extremely unpleasant topic. Simply put, all employers should address violence in the workplace in the hope that at least one tragedy can be prevented. There may be no sure way to prevent all workplace murders (any more than there is a way to prevent all murders) but I thought I might mention that there are warning signs employers can use to identify a potential for workplace violence.

The issue is too complex for one (or even several blog posts). Besides, there are a number of well-written publications that better address it. (One is “Threats Pending Fuses Burning: Managing Workplace Violence” by Dennis A. Davis, whom I heard speak on the subject at Kramer Rayson’s Labor and Employment Seminar in 2006.)

While mass murders are more likely to make the news, workplace violence is not just about them. The FBI, in its “Workplace Violence, Issues in Response” reminds us that mass murders are relatively infrequent (despite their publicity) and it is “the threats, harassment, bullying, domestic violence, stalking, emotional abuse, intimidation, and other forms of behavior and physical violence that, if left unchecked, may result in more serious violent behavior.”

Not surprisingly, there is a good bit of similarity between the FBI publication and Dennis Davis’ book. Most incidences of workplace violence, Dennis said, don’t happen without warning to someone even if it is not one of the intended victims. Dennis breaks down workplace violence into three “stages” graded by their increasing potential for violence. Each stage has recognizable characteristics. I won’t try to condense Dennis’ book (or his talk) here but it is an eye-opener. OSHA and the CDC (with NIOSH) have also published Internet sources that will help an employer address and reduce the risk of workplace violence.

What surprises most people when they hear about workplace violence prevention is the link between an individual’s violent tendencies and some of the more “mundane” issues that arise in the workplace. Dennis and the FBI make this point repeatedly. The FBI: “Prevention programs that do not consider harassment in all forms and threats are unlikely to be effective.” Or as Dennis’ book says, “violence starts with thoughts and moves first to language then to actions.”

The FBI recommends employers act before a tragedy by developing a “workplace violence strategy.” Support it from the “top”, tailor it to your workplace, training managers and employees to spot, report and prevent some of the behaviors that might lead to violence, and conduct practice exercises. All employers should have a prevention program that compliments the harassment policy and provides procedures for investigating, assessing and addressing violent behavior. One thing I like about the FBI’s approach is the way it describes the “zero tolerance” policy an employer should adopt. Rather than imposing a "zero tolerance" mandatory penalty approach, employers should make it clear that zero tolerance means: “no threatening or violent behavior is acceptable and no violent incident will be ignored."

My description of these texts grossly oversimplifies the issues. The FBI report and Dennis’ book cover the issues and concerns in detail. I simply wanted to mention that there are resources out there that might prevent another tragedy.