An incident that happened a few weeks ago made me wonder how trainers and/or training departments are approaching the subject of workplace violence. I'm wondering how many managers are really prepared to handle such an event - or know what to do if they become aware of a disturbed employee.

Here's the incident - I went into a restaurant (one that I eat at quite often) and one of the servers that I know walked up to me and said, "I'm having a bad day. I mean, I'm having a really bad day! Really makes me wish I was still in the Army so I could get a gun and go kill a bunch of people!" After saying that, he turned and walked away. The server was deadly (no pun intended) serious - had a totally flat affect. It was really quite chilling. I had observed wild mood swings (from mania to depression) with this server already. He was a former Ranger in the Army - served in Iraq and got divorced immediately after he got out of the Army - just prior to his working at the restaurant. So, the stressors were definitely there.

I reported the incident to the restaurant manager. The restaurant is part of a national chain, so is part of a fairly large organization. The manager didn't have a clue about how to handle things. She contacted HR, but got no help at all. There is no company policy regarding this type thing. The server still works at the restaurant. The manager thinks he is severely depressed - and a walking time bomb, but is doing nothing.

If you, as a training professional, were working for an organization in which this type incident occurred, what would you do, or suggest as an intervention should it occur again? How prepared do you think most companies are for threats of violence? Should it be more of an issue in organizations than it is? Would employees recognize troubling signs and symptoms in other employees and know when and where to report them?

I have a friend who is an expert in this area and has done programs for lots of big companies. Send him an email at Ed Robbbins edjrobbins@mchsi.com

Thanks - I appreciate the response!

quote:

Originally posted by KaliKo:
If you, as a training professional, were working for an organization in which this type incident occurred, what would you do, or suggest as an intervention should it occur again? How prepared do you think most companies are for threats of violence? Should it be more of an issue in organizations than it is? Would employees recognize troubling signs and symptoms in other employees and know when and where to report them?

In production/manufacturing environments management will notice real fast if someone is not doing their assigned job so anything out of order is noticed real quickly on the production floor--not so in the parking lot where occasional fighting, arguments occurs. Any such conduct on company property is grounds for termination and that's what we often do. I actually got more involved in this when I noticed some new applicants on company property were acting rude when they found out they were not going to be offered employment. It took a while and quite a bit of convincing to change our procedures so employment notifications are made by mail or phone.

First and foremost, you did the right thing by reporting the server's comments to the manager. Second, a restaurant which is part of a chain should have a formal policy on workplace violence, and managers should be trained to address most issues. A well written note to the company's senior executive and/or legal counsel is normally sufficient to heighten organizational awareness for liability protection.

The incidences of workplace violence have been steadily declining over the years, along with WPV training. With the increase of war zone returnees to the private sector, I suspect the number of incidents will increase, as will the WPV training priority. A Google search on "bullying in the workplace" or "workplace violence" will yield a wealth of information (and free canned training programs)which might be useful to review prior to a company launching new training initiatives.

What's my experience with this issue? I provide workplace violence consulting for managers and supervisors at the US Postal Service.