Keeping Workplace Violence in Check

Nine beer distillery employees are shot to death in Manchester by a former co-worker who claims to have been racially harassed.

A patient at Danbury Hospital pulls out a gun from under his gown and puts three slugs into a nurse who tries to wrestle the gun away from him.

These are just two highly publicized examples of violence in the workplace this year. But there are many more annually, in varying degrees of seriousness.

James Rascati, director of organizational services for Behavioral Health Consultants LLC, said a build up of anger over time usually precedes such violent acts.

"People don't just 'crack' and become violent. Usually there are warning signs ... clear indications that something is wrong," Rascati told 30 business and community leaders attending a seminar on workplace violence at the Valley Chamber of Commerce in Shelton Friday morning.

Other speakers included Leona J. May, compliance assistance specialist with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) office in Bridgeport; and Monroe Police Lt. Brian McCauley.

Lisa Bisson, client services representative for Griffin Hospital's Occupational Medicine Center, said the hospital teams up with OSHA and ECHO Hose in Shelton for a series of workplace seminars throughout the year.

"We have an alliance between federal OSHA in Bridgeport and Griffin Occupational Medicine," May said. "And of course, the Valley Chamber lets us use the space."

The timing of Friday's seminar on workplace violence, just one week after nine people were gunned down at the Manchester distillery, was coincidental, according to May.

"We scheduled this in April," she said. "It was totally apropos."

May, McCauley and Rascati taught their audience how to read warning signs that could lead to violence, strategies on preventing problems from escalating and how to handle it when an employee's anger explodes.

But despite all of the best professional advice, Rascati noted there are no guarantees in life.

"It is unrealistic for any organization to set a goal of a violence free workplace," he said. "Society is not violence-free, and there are many circumstances over which organizations have no control."

Fuel to the fire

Violence is defined as any verbal or physical act that makes people feel threatened or causes a person harm, according to Rascati.

Homicides grab the biggest headlines, but non-fatal assaults are more numerous. A report in Compensation and Working Conditions found there were more than 18,500 such assaults in 1996.

Keeping in mind that all violence is not physical, McCauley said over 6 million U.S. employees are threatened, harassed or intimidated at work each year.

Typical triggers that can set an employee off include job loss, loss of financial benefits, fascination with a co-worker, a demotion or poor performance rating, and organizational changes, McCauley said.

Problems at home can also be brought to work and triggers can include divorce, a restraining order and foreclosure.

In fact, six percent of workplace violence is known as domestic spillover.

May remembers an incident at Bridgeport Hospital when she worked there in the early '70s.

"A husband went to the ER and shot his wife dead in front of everyone," she said. "They had argued the night before. It was a classic case of domestic spillover."

Running for his life

Valley Chamber President Bill Purcell knows first-hand how it feels to be a victim of workplace violence.

On fateful day on July 3, 1976, Purcell, then a junior in college, was working his shift at the Department of Youth Services for Juvenile Offenders in Massachusetts.

An 18-year-old came at Purcell with a baseball bat.

"If not for my fleet-footedness, I wouldn't be here," he recalled. "I out-ran him in a caged in area. That memory haunts me to this day.

"No one is here to save me, I'm on my own. This can't be happening. This is the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services and there was nothing in place for handling this."

McCauley said it is estimated that 500,000 employees, who are victims of workplace harassment, bullying or assault miss 1.75 million days of work a year.

The drastic drops in productivity costs businesses $121 billion a year by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates.

Rascati said prevention is achieved by careful planning, having clear policies and procedures, training for all managers, supervisors and employees; and having methods in place to identify and deal with an employee's concerns.

In his profession, McCauley said police officers train until their reactions to emergency situations are automatic.

"We call it muscle memory in our line of work," McCauley said. "Why should that be any different from another company?"

Rascati said it is very important for companies to strictly follow its policies on behavior, rather than "letting something slide" because an employee had no prior offenses.

When managers and supervisors ignore problems between co-workers by "burying their heads in the sand, McCauley calls it the "Ostrich effect."

"My father told me when you act like an ostrich, the only thing you do is get kicked in the a**," McCauley said with a chuckle.

Warning signs

Rascati identifies potential warning signs in degrees of danger from yellow flags to red ones.

Yellow flags include changes in personality or behavior, a change in productivity levels, growing despondency, depression, general verbal threats, conflict, and verbalizing feelings of being mistreated.

Red Flags include specific threats regarding causing harm, drastic changes in behavior, intensifying of an ongoing conflict and displays of rage.

Aggressors can start out as victims of bullying, according to McCauley, using loners Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, two Columbine High School students who brought guns to school and shot 13 classmates to death and injured 24 others.

"You need to watch the victim, that person who is always getting flac, because something has to give," McCauley said.

For employers, McCauley recommends thorough background checks when hiring, because a previous history of violence can be the surest sign of trouble.

Once co-workers, managers or supervisors identify an employee with emotional problems, McCauley said they should ask him how he is doing.

Rascati said one should suggest the co-worker go to the employee assistance program or human resources to seek help with any problems.

If you think a co-worker may pose a danger to himself or others, Rascati said you should tell a supervisor or human resources, which would keep things confidential.

When an employee goes to management with a grievance, McCauley said open communication is important.

"Avoid confrontation, try to build trust and provide help," he said. "Allow a total airing of the grievance without comment or judgement. Preserve the individual's dignity. Allow them to suggest a solution. You can steer the conversation."

May said police should not only be called in after something bad happens. Officers can be called to prevent a violent scene when a potentially dangerous employee is being terminated, she said.

Media hype

While workplace violence is a serious problem, Rascati says the news media can make it seem much worse than it actually is.

Ever since a shooting at a U.S. Post Office years ago, an act of workplace violence has been known as "going postal."

But Rascati said the Post Office is one of the safest places to work.

As scary as stories like the beer distillery shooting and the Danbury Hospital shooting can be, Rascati also notes that workplace violence is relatively low.

For example, he said there were 1,080 workplace homicides in the U.S. in 1994 and a drop to 551 in 2004.

"That's six workplace homicides per month," Rascati said. "It's not a huge problem, but the media seizes on this stuff."