Workplace violence can range from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and homicide, one of the leading causes of job-related deaths. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of violence in your workplace. Who Is Vulnerable? According to the federal Occupational Safety...

Workplace violence can strike any workplace at any time—with devastating consequences. Today’s featured Free Report explains 7 steps for protecting both your organization and your employees. Workplace violence is a serious problem. Frightening and sometimes tragic incidents of workplace rage...

Workplace violence can strike any workplace at any time—with devastating consequences. Today’s featured Free Report explains 7 steps for protecting both your organization and your employees. Workplace violence is a serious problem. Frightening and sometimes tragic incidents of workplace rage...

Every workplace has them: Those bad-apple employees who spoil the whole barrel. Like their edible counterparts, bad-apple employees come in several different varieties: Grousing Gracie : Her co-workers are out to get her. The boss is mean. She has way more work to do than she could ever be expected to...

Workplace violence can strike any workplace at any time—with devastating consequences. Today's featured Free Report explains 7 steps for protecting both your organization and your employees. Workplace violence is a serious problem. Frightening and sometimes tragic incidents of workplace rage...

Donnell Roberts had recently been terminated from his job at the Barona Resort and Casino in San Diego County. Last week, he walked into the casino and killed his former manager with a shotgun before taking his own life. While coworkers and supervisors reported that they had seen no indications of problems...

You've undoubtedly seen it in the news: Last week, Jing Hua Wu, a Santa Clara engineer, shot and killed three people at work—the company's head of HR, the VP of operations, and the chief executive—after being let go. This is obviously a tragic (and extreme) turn of events. And given...

Our facility has numerous hazards; chemical, physical—you name it, we've got it. We train our workers on handling and avoiding them, but what about our visitors? I've been tasked with tightening up our visitor safety program. What suggestions do you have for me? — Caroline C., HR...

In the wake of last week's horrific violence at Virginia Tech, employers across the nation are asking themselves whether their own workplaces could be vulnerable to a similar tragedy and what can be done to prevent it. Unfortunately, not all violent incidents can be predicted or headed off. But employers...

Domestic violence affects more than 32 million Americans each year, with more than 2 million injuries and approximately 1,300 deaths. As the scope of the problem underscores, domestic violence isn't just a personal issue, but one that spills over into the workplace as well, affecting both men and...

When Joshua Josephs applied for a service tech position with Pacific Bell Telephone Co., he checked "no" to the job application question, "Have you ever been convicted of, or are you awaiting trial for, a felony or misdemeanor?" Josephs was hired for the position, which required him...

In late January, a former U.S. postal worker went on a shooting rampage at a mail processing plant in the town of Goleta near Santa Barbara. The ex-employee killed five, wounded another, and then turned the gun on herself. She reportedly had been placed on medical leave from her job in 2003 for psychological...

Recently, the abusive ex-husband of one of our employees entered our facility and threatened the employee and several of her co-workers. No one was injured, but the employees are now looking to us to do something. Should we encourage employees who are victims of domestic violence to notify us if there's...

The National Institute for Ocupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has produced a new training tool about preventing workplace violence. "Violence on the Job" is a 27-minute video (in two separate programs) that discusses practical measures for identifying risk factors for violence at work, and...

On July 8, 2003, a worker at a Lockheed Martin Mississippi aircraft parts plant gunned down 14 coworkers, killing five. On August 27, 2003, a disgruntled former employee opened fire at a Chicago auto parts warehouse, killing six former coworkers. These tragedies are just a fraction of the workplace violence...

It's important to understand the warning signs that a worker might be headed for violent behavior. Here's a list of stress factors, cues, and signals that many psychologists believe may indicate potential for violent behavior in the workplace. Of course, just how significant any of these factors...

Bad feelings between two co-workers erupt, and one goes on the attack. The other worker could back off but instead defends himself. You fire both employees. But now you have a lawsuit on your hands charging the termination violated the right to self-defense of the employee who defended against the attack...

If two employees get into a scuffle at work and one is hurt, you might assume that the injured employee's only recourse against you is to file a workers' compensation claim. But a San Diego jury's staggering verdict demonstrates that if you don't respond appropriately to an altercation...

Hector Escalante was a print machine operator at Wilson's Art Studio Inc. in Orange County. One day without warning co-worker Ion Stanei allegedly attacked Escalante with a stick and hammer and threw a box of screws at him. As Escalante ran away, Stanei hurled another box of screws, hitting Escalante...

Highly publicized incidents of on-the-job violence have prompted many employers to adopt a workplace violence policy. But a recent federal appeals court ruling in California demonstrates the problems that can arise—particularly for public employers—if your policy goes too far. Professor Publishes...