Violence in the workplace has risen to “epidemic” proportions according to the Centers of Disease Control. In this volume, Dr. Marc McElhaney, a specialist in workplace violence, presents a comprehensive guide that no manager can do without when having to prepare for these potentially dangerous and often disruptive events.
These are situations that often seem to explode in the workplace without warning, when in fact, they have often long incubated outside the manager’s awareness. Utilizing a risk management approach that focuses on the process of how these situations evolve, as opposed to an oversimplified presentation of “profiles”, will provide the manager with the needed tools to prevent and effectively intervene, to ensure a safe and cost-effective resolution.
This book takes a comprehensive view that covers the broad range of aggression control strategies that an organization can utilize, from the fundamental building blocks of a primary prevention program to specific techniques that the manager can use to defuse and stabilize situations that are already threatening to explode. In between, the author presents a step-by-step description of the assessment and intervention process that should occur when and if an organization is faced with a potentially dangerous set of circumstances.
Specific high-risk situations, such as employee termination, are discussed in detail, along with strategies that Dr. McElhaney has found to be particularly effective when having to stabilize, control and ultimately ensure a safe and long-lasting conclusion. Utilizing an approach that combines his knowledge and experience from the fields of threat assessment, risk management, conflict resolution and crisis negotiation, the author focuses on an approach that not only addresses the organization’s immediate needs, but which also strives for a resolution and management plan that addresses long-term safety concerns.
As a consulting Psychologist and Mediator, Dr. Marc McElhaney works exclusively in the areas of threat assessment, critical incident management and conflict resolution. As Director of Critical Response Associates and the Centers for Dispute Resolution, LLC, he actively consults with organizations (typically corporations and law enforcement agencies) in regards to the assessment, management and resolution of high-risk incidents. He has also helped schools and corporations develop workplace violence policies and crisis response programs, and currently presents workshops and training programs in the areas of workplace violence prevention, conflict resolution and crisis management. The author is an active member in several professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals, the Association for Conflict Resolution, the American Society for Industrial Security, Psychologists for Social Responsibility, and the Society for Human Resource Management. He currently resides in Atlanta with his wife, two children and whatever shows up in his backyard pond.
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This process usually occurs under a great deal of pressure to respond quickly. There are generally some very real limitations, in terms of available time and resources. Good decision-making involving critical issues of safety have to be balanced with the need to come to decisions relatively quickly, and often with limited data. A trained response team, operating with an understanding of the appropriate protocol and with access to the required resources, is better able to keep these concerns in balance and manage the situation safely.
It is not the purpose of this volume to train the threat response team or to offer a detailed review of the threat assessment and management process. While this book is offered as a general guide to organizations, it cannot also serve as a menu for the threat response process. There is no substitute for having a workplace violence program in place that includes a trained team, with access to available specialists. Each and every situation offers a different and generally unique framework of factors that need to be understood before they can be adequately managed. What I will present is an outline of the process as it generally occurs, but the reader should keep in mind that this is a fluid process that has to adapt and respond to the dynamics of the given situation.
A guiding principle throughout this process is to not over-respond and create a greater risk. While decisions may have to be made quickly, careful planning is critical. Time spent gathering information, in order to formulate a safe plan of approach, is generally time well spent. It will be always important to proceed carefully and in a step-wise manner. Any response or decision to intervene in any manner, even if just to interview particular individuals, should be carefully considered in light of any potential consequences that could serve to increase the risk to a member of the organization. Any response or decision should err on the side of caution and represent the least intrusive or disruptive option.
The initial review: gathering the facts
Once a report of a threat is received by the team or the team leader, the first order of business generally involves collecting information, in order to confirm and obtain the relevant details of the allegations. The initial reports have often already been skewed or distorted, and have not been subjected to any kind of confirmation process.
It is critical that decisions are based on accurate data. Effective threat management relies on an accurate assessment, and accurate assessment is dependent on accurate information. Operating on bad information will sabotage the most carefully prepared plans and can serve to catch us off guard with a suddenly unanticipated set of consequences.
Initially, the team leader, or the team member who is coordinating the particular case, is responsible for obtaining any available information, in order to make some of these initial decisions. This process would typically involve interviewing the individual who made the
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sexual intimacies with their victims being much higher. This is quite significant, as it represents a very high rate of violence, when compared to other risk groups. Even without this relatively high rate of physical violence, stalking always, at the very least, represents a particular form of aggression: a prolonged (and sometimes recurring) set of actions that harass and intimidate their victims, who are often forced to live under a chronic level of distress and fear.
Stalking and the Workplace
Stalking in the workplace can take many forms and for a variety of different reasons. It may involve one employee stalking another employee, or an employee may be a victim of stalking from someone outside the organization. There may have been an existing or a previous relationship from which the victim cannot successfully disengage. It may involve a spouse or significant other who is not employed by the company, but who stalks their partner at the workplace because that is the only time that they can successfully locate the victim.
Stalking can occur due to a delusional belief system, in which someone believes that they have a relationship with the victim that is not based in reality or shared by the victim. These delusions can be the result of a variety of psychological factors that can in turn be manifestations of various personality, cognitive and/or emotional disorders. Finally, stalking can occur as a consequence of predatory behaviors that are related to significant antisocial personality characteristics.
Utilizing a typology established by Mike Zona and John Lane (1993), stalking can be classified into 3 categories, all of which can be experienced within the workplace:
The simple obsessional,
The love obsessional
The erotomanic
The “simple obsessional” type of stalking occurs when the victim and the perpetrator have some kind of prior relationship which may or may not be intimate. One individual may be seeking to reunite with their spouse, lover or ex-partner - or one partner may have an unrealistically high level of emotional investment, such that they are unable to separate, even from a relationship that may not have been considered that significant by the other party. Another manifestation may occur when an individual seeks to stalk or harass or terrorize someone because of a perceived slight or injustice, which may happen if an ex-employee stalks a supervisor, for example. This behavior generally occurs due to an over-attachment to the victim and/or as a means of intimidating or harassing them.
The “love obsessional” type occurs when there is not an existing relationship between the victim and his or her perpetrator; however, the perpetrator believes that they are in love with the victim - and believes that the victim may even feel likewise if they would only give it consideration. This typically begins with a flurry of correspondence and attempts to contact the victim. At some point, the pursuer experiences disappointment