Everybody remain calm

Looking for clues on workplace violence: Where next?

From...

By Susannah Patton

(IDG) -- When a software tester was arraigned in December in Massachusetts' Malden District Court on seven counts of first-degree murder, there was shock among many employees at Edgewater Technology. Accused gunman Michael McDermott, 42, they said, had never seemed to be someone who could become violent.

QUICK VOTE Do you have any concerns about workplace violence where you work? None. I feel safe at work. Some. I worry about a couple of people. A lot. I think we have someone here who could lose it. View Results

MESSAGE BOARD Violence in America     HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER? In one series of questions, the Integra Realty Resources survey on "desk rage" asked respondents about stress on the job. What would you say to these questions?

But after the shooting in which McDermott was charged, seven of his former co-workers lay dead.

And as stress in the workplace intensifies, some companies have turned to specialists in an effort to try to weed out potentially violent job applicants and identify troubled employees. While consultants differ on how best to screen applicants, some say workplace violence can be prevented.

"There are always warning signs," says Mark Braverman, principal at CMG Associates, a consultancy in Newton, Massachusetts, and author of "Preventing Workplace Violence."

"I like it," says Braverman, "when companies call me and say, 'We have someone here who we are concerned about,' not 'We just fired someone, and we're afraid he's going to come back and kill us.'"

Violence on the job "cuts across industries and time," says Michael McIntyre, professor of industrial psychology at the University of Tennessee's College of Business in Knoxville. Still, recent studies show that verbal and physical assaults at work are on the rise.

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Integra Realty Resources, a real estate consulting company in New York City, found in a recent survey of 1,305 adults that 42 percent of office workers had been involved in shouting matches at work.

McIntyre and colleague Larry James have developed a 25-question reasoning test they say can help fight "desk rage" by identifying potentially hostile workers. Preliminary research shows that those who scored high on the test have a "high probability of getting in trouble on the job," McIntyre says.

Such tests may be effective, but they can expose companies to lawsuits, counters Lynne McClure, president of Phoenix-based McClure Associates, which specializes in high-risk employee behavior. Instead of written tests, McClure advocates screening candidates using eight high-risk behavior categories.

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TESTING FOR TEMPER In Michael McIntyre and Larry James' test, developed at the University of Tennessee, job applicants aren't told what they're being screened for. Here are two of the test's questions and information on responses.

Examples of actions that fall into these categories are an applicant who becomes angry while describing an event from previous workplaces or exhibits poor personal hygiene. Braverman, however, says it's nearly impossible to predict human behavior and companies should focus on creating positive work environments.

"The big problem is that workplaces can be extremely stressful, and people feel resentful and isolated," Braverman says.

"Workplace violence is a leadership issue. The trick is to foster communication and to have a good safety net for those folks who need help."

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Overworked, overwrought: 'Desk rage' at work
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October 31, 2000
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October 30, 2000
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October 24, 2000
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May 25, 2000

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CMG Associates: Violence Prevention, Employee Assistance, Crisis Intervention, Management Consultation
Edgewater Technology
Workplace Violence - McClure & Associates
University of Tennessee: College of Business

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