WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

 I.            Warning signs of workplace violence: 

1.   Verbal threats to hurt or kill someone.

2.    Strong sense of entitlement to job condition.

3.     Anger unabated.

4.     Persistent physical actions or boundary crossing.

5.     Paranoia.

6.     Irrational violent statements or associations.

7.     Romantic obsession with persistent calls, letters, etc.

8.     Weapons possession, proficiency or obsession.

9.      Substance abuse, especially alcohol or amphetamines.

10.    Recent escalation of any of the above behaviors.

11.    Significant non-work personal/family/financial stressors.

12.    History of violence.

13.     Reality testing poor. 

            Also look for: 

1.     Recent marked performance decline.

2.      Recent/impending negative change in employment status.

3.      Availability of target individuals.

4.      High anxiety/fear among informants/work groups/managers.

5.      Counterproductive supervisor style factors. 

II.  Steps in assessment and management of potential violent employees:

1.   Evidence of warning signs recognized.

2.    Document current/past history and organize case summaries.

3.    Determine threshold for further action vs. Monitoring.

4.    Assemble incident management team.

5.    Interview informants/targets rapidly.

6.    Team review of findings.

7.     Implement terminations vs. controlled confrontation vs. monitoring.

8.     Implement post-termination security steps.

9.     Continue team monitoring of information. 

III.  Assessing workplace violence -- relevant populations and profiles:

1.   Overly aggressive individuals (deprived backgrounds, victims themselves, poor relationships, poor judgment, substance abuse, denial, poor insight, and poor ability to emphasize).

  2.   Chronic disgruntled complainer (most dangerous).

  3.   Romantic obsession.

  4.   Domestic abuser.

 (Adopted from a presentation by Jolee Brunton, Ph.D.)