Warning Signs
Violence in the workplace can take many forms — from a colleague or student who exhibits dangerous or threatening behavior or abusive relationships between partners or family members, to violent behavior by patients in the health care setting and random acts of violence that take place on campus by members of the public with no connection to the campus.
Warning Signs THAT MAY PRECEDE OR BE INDICATIVE OF Violent Behavior
- Threatening statements about killing/harming self or others, direct or veiled
- References to or preoccupation with other incidents of workplace violence
- Intimidating, belligerent, insubordinate, defiant or challenging behavior
- Confrontational, angry, easily provoked, unpredictable, restless or agitated behavior
- History of violent, reckless or antisocial behavior
- Alleged fondness or fascination with firearms
- Blames others for anything that goes wrong, with no sense of responsibility
- Shows recent marked job performance decline
- Changes in personality, mood or behavior
- Excessive crying
- Decline in personal grooming
- Crosses behavioral boundaries at work (e.g., excessive phone calls, personal e-mails and/or visits)
- Substance abuse
- Cultural issues – disgrace for failing
- Failing in school
- Serious stress in their personal life (e.g., financial, family or marital problems)
Relationship violence is the most common form of violence to spill over into the workplace. In a study produced by the Justice Department and Centers for Disease Control in 2000, almost 25 percent of women and 7 percent of men reported that they had been assaulted by a current or former partner. While many victims often feel safer at work than home, they often endure threats and harassing phone calls and e-mails from partners who know exactly where to find them during work hours.
SIGNS OF RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE
- Anxiousness, crying, depression
- Frequent or sudden unscheduled absences
- Frequent tardiness or leaving work early
- Fluctuations in the quality of work for no apparent reason
- Difficulty concentrating and decreased productivity
- Isolation from colleagues and social activities
- Excessive number of phone calls or e-mails from family members
- Disruptive personal visits to the workplace
- Visible injuries, often with an explanation of an “accident”; multiple injuries in different stages of healing; unexplained delay in seeking medical treatment for injuries
- Stress-related illnesses and/or anxiety-related conditions, such as heart palpitations, hyperventilation and panic attacks
