12 ways to spot a potentially violent person in the workplace

[TexasTowelie]

How many times have you read about a workplace shooting, and the employees said something like, “I’m not surprised he did this,” or, “He always gave me the creeps, but I never thought he’d actually kill anybody”?

Workplace violence will never disappear, as illustrated all too frighteningly by this week's on-air shootings in Roanoke, Virginia. That’s why people have to be educated. Remember the Washington Navy Yard shootings two years ago next month? I'm a security executive who appeared on CNBC at the time to discuss that incident as well as the prevention of future ones.

As I said at the time -- and still do -- unfortunately there’s no magic pill, no super-technology to prevent violence on the job.

I remember how the CNBC anchor for that interview asked why the NSA, or other high-tech agency, could pick up people’s online chattering but not prevent workplace shootings?

Read more: http://www.chron.com/jobs/article/12-ways-to-spot-a-potentially-violent-person-in-6474832.php

[SheilaT]

1. Many years ago, as in the 1970's,

I had a co-worker that we all worried about. He was obsessed with guns. He seemed a bit unstable. We all thought that someday he'd go out in a blaze of glory, so to speak, and take many others with him. He transferred to a branch office in a city about 500 miles away. When he'd been approved for the transfer, the employees in that office called us to ask what he was like, and we essentially said, He's one of a kind.

We didn't particularly care for him, didn't like working with him. A few months after his transfer we learned he was well-liked by his coworkers in his new city. He stayed there until retirement, and apparently never exhibited the behaviors that bothered all of us.

Reading through the 12 Ways, he didn't quite manifest any of those. But there were some incidents, that don't really bear repeating her because they were rather subtle, that had us all very concerned. In his case, relocating to a slightly different part of the country seemed to improve him.

[brush]

2. Hate to say this but . . .

maybe it wasn't him.

[SheilaT]

3. ??? Not sure what you mean.

He was crazy. At least he was when he lived in our city. The kind of gun nut that respectable gun owners would shun.

We never understood why he changed, but he did.

[murielm99]

4. Counseling?

Maybe he saw where he was heading, or someone who cared about him saw it.

Counseling, meds, and a change in his environment could have been just what he needed.

[SheilaT]

6. I feel extremely confident he did not get counseling.

But there was a clear change in his environment.

[Lancero]

9. If a change in environment helped that much...

Then maybe it was something - or someone - around him that was the cause, rather then any inherent mental instability?

From your post, he apparently did a 180 after moving - So, yeah... Something was driving him a bit paranoid, and considering how you said everyone treated him...

[SheilaT]

10. It's hard to know for sure.

When he lived in my city, we were all quite wary of him. When his co-workers to be called us, we said, "Oh, he's one of a kind." Someone either called that city some time later, or happened to pass through it, and they were all quite fond of him. Great co-worker, got along with everyone, apparently never displaced any of the nuttiness we'd seen, least of all the gun-crazy nuttiness so far as we could tell.

Just goes to show you never really know anyone. He worked in that city for a good thirty years more and retired, and so far as I know he's still alive. He'd be in his early 70's now.

Added on edit: I just googled his name, as it's not a very common one. All of six people in this country with it. And there's one, over age 65, in the vicinity of the city he transferred to. Interesting.

[Snobblevitch]

13. What were his actions that made you believe he was a crazy gun nut?

[LanternWaste]

14. There it is...

There it is...

[Snobblevitch]

16. There what is...

I'm curious about the behaviors of the guy that caused people in one office to think he wasn't stable but then apparently at another office he did not show any signs of instability.

[SheilaT]

17. He was giving a co-worker a ride home one night

(our job involved shiftwork, so some of us went home after 10pm), and riding down a dark country road, he pulled out a gun and started blasting away. The passenger said he didn't see anything at all that was being aimed at.

We were all quite mystified that he turned around so completely. Well, so far as I know it's possible he retained the sort of gun nuttiness that was observed; I have no way of knowing. But he just didn't act so weird and crazy at work, from what his new coworkers reported. Keep in mind, this was about 40 years ago, so I've forgotten lots of details, but his general strangeness was memorable.

[Snobblevitch]

18. That certainly was an irresponsible (and illegal) thing for him to do.

I understand why you viewed him in the manner that you described. It seems to me that there are large numbers of DUers who think all gun owners behave in the manner your former co-worker did.

[SheilaT]

21. Yes. As totally opposed to guns as I am, as much as I think no one should have them,

I recognize that what this guy did was gun nuttery. It's also hard to describe how just a bit off he was. One evening a female co-worker got off work about 9:30 or 10pm, and when she got close to her car in the not well lighted lot, she saw him, turned around and came back and a supervisor then walked her to her car. By then the strange co-worker had left, and I don't think any similar incident ever occurred with him.

[Eleanors38]

7. Maybe folks were a little, uh, paranoid?

[Agschmid]

5. Scary stuff I've worked with someone who was really OTT...

I wasn't his direct supervisor at the time but she would always alert me when she had to confront him... Think it made her feel safer?

Scary stuff.

Mental health issues continue to be unaddressed in the U.S.

[hunter]

11. Well, if you want to go there, I consider anyone with a handgun fetish to be dangerous.

Mentally ill people are more likely to be victims of violent crime than "normal" people.

When a tough guy cop or other "responsible" hand gun owner shoots an unarmed, but maybe "uncooperative" mentally ill person, who's the dangerous one?

It's the asshole with the handgun.

[lunatica]

8. My workplace requires attendance in a safety class.

I work in UC Berkeley and within the last year they started requiring all employees and students take a class on safety which is put on by the campus and city police departments. It was all good advice.

If it sounds like a gunshot it probably is so don't stand up in your cubicle wondering out loud if it was a gunshot.

Try getting away in the opposite direction of the gunshot.

Hide.

Find a blind spot where any shooter looking around for victims won't see you (stand flat against the walls next to windows if the window is part of an inside wall for example or hide behind the door, under a desk)

About half way through the class while one officer had our attention another one shot a gun with fake bullets into the air. We all jumped in shock. They said that's what a gunshot sounds like.
a gun range so I know the distinct popping of guns going off, especially in quick succession.

But I really hate living in that kind of fear. Some of my workmates were very afraid and nervous for quite a few days. And this is in a building that you need a security card key to get into, and you also need it to get around within the building. No one can go up or down the elevators and get onto the main floors of the building. You need a card key to get onto the main floors.

I'm glad I took the class because it's better to think about what you'll do before it happens.

Another thing the cops said. If by any chance you happen to get the gun away from the shooter, shoot him/her.

[meow2u3]

12. I take exception with #10

Just because someone doesn't have a health-conscious lifestyle doesn't invariably mean he or she will become violent. There are many people whose lifestyles are less than healthful and don't have a violent bone in their bodies.

That's just an excuse to ostracize smokers, drinkers, and junk food junkies. The ostracism of people who don't lead health conscious lives is more a predictor of workplace violence than the unapproved lifestyle; no one likes to be rejected. Shunning people whose lifestyle is anything but health conscious is an (un)intended consequence of workplace wellness programs.

[TexasTowelie]

22. I don't believe that having one of the signs would make me consider that a fellow employee

would have a propensity of violence in the workplace and living an unhealthy lifestyle would be the least troublesome. However, if a fellow employee showed a lot of the anger related symptoms along with comments about how "life isn't worth living" and an unhealthy lifestyle then I would be more concerned.

[Oneironaut]

15. So, I guess if your co-workers don't like you and you drink, you're obviously going to kill ppl!

These articles are silly. The truth is, there's no way to predict with certainty if someone is going to go off and hurt others.

[ellisonz]

19. Thanks NRA.

[uponit7771]

20. '...will go as far perhaps as having a gun collection, or a subscription to some kind of ammo or ...