"... an Army psychiatrist apparently went on a shooting rampage that left 13 dead and 27 wounded at the Fort Hood army post where he worked.
" An engineer who was dismissed for poor performance two years ago allegedly returned to his former workplace in Florida and shot and killed one person while wounding five others."
Policies and procedures that ignore anxiety producing workplace issues aren't "best practices" for an organization.
Take a look at your HR policies and procedures and look for abusive loopholes that allow ineffective or corrupt activities to fester or thrive.
What's NOT there can be an even greater impact than what's THERE.
- Are there ways to report abusive behaviors?
- Are there methods to negotiate conflicts?
- Is training available for non-violent conflict resolution?
- Is there a way to identify and handle employees or customers with mental health problems?
- How is a healthy, sustainable organization visualized for your organization? Is that ideal spread through the entire group, and encouraged and rewarded when progress is made?
If you do, you will take the time to find preventive solutions that foster good workplace relationships. If you don't ... well, you don't belong in a free enterprise environment. Good citizenship starts with caring about your fellowman...and your community. Business is about more than money ... it's about being a valued member of productivity that fosters LIFE.
Commenting on the Yale University case, Richard Denenberg, author of the book The Violence-Prone Workplace, said in an interview with Workforce Management that "each workplace should have an intervention system and a system to report untoward incidence or chronic conflict so a conflict can be interdicted."