Although one-sixth of all violent crime in the U.S. occurs in the workplace, many companies remain poorly prepared to deal with these violent acts.
“There is a mentality that people just don’t believe it’s going to happen to them,” says Jonathan Theders, CPIA, president and risk architect at Clark-Theders Insurance Agency Inc.
Theders says there are several triggers within a business that can cause violent reactions, such as layoffs, firings, a poor performance review, or a disagreement with a coworker. External factors, such as a divorce, a domestic dispute, alcohol abuse, or financial problems can also be triggers.
Smart Business spoke with Theders about how to recognize those potential triggers and prevent workplace issues from escalating into violence.
What can businesses do to minimize the risk of violence in the workplace?
Watch for things that could push somebody over the edge. A lot of the warning signs that precede an act of violence are often overlooked or ignored. Often, after a violent crime occurs in the workplace, people say, ‘It’s so clear how it happened.’ People always see the good in other people, so we brush these things off.
Rather than wait for something to happen, employers need to be proactive, and one way to do that is to create a zero tolerance policy. That policy should state, ‘No type of violent behavior, including intimidation, threats or violent acts will be tolerated. Anything that leads to these things will lead to discipline, including termination.’
In almost every workplace violence scenario, there were signs beforehand. If a recently laid-off employee talks about payback, people brush it off as anger. But you can’t do that. If you draw a line in the sand and create a zero tolerance policy, you’re going to defuse a lot of issues ahead of time.
What signs should employers watch for?
In our sample policy, there are three stages of behavior. Stage one shows early potential for violence, name-calling, dehumanizing of people, challenging authority, regularly being argumentative and unusual behavior. Those things need to be brought to management’s attention and addressed at the forefront.
Stage two is the escalated potential for violence: ignoring company policies and procedures, stealing from the company, making threats verbally or in writing, blaming others for problems and destruction of property.
Stage one encompasses the warning signs; in stage two, you’d better brace yourself. In stage three, the potential for violence is realized. That’s when they come in punching, kicking, or waving a gun.
