Warning Signs of Violence: Attendance & Bullying
Written by Robert D. Sollars
Every perpetrator of violence within, or from outside, the organization…business or school (WPV/SV)…anywhere, forewarns their intent by showing warning signs, yet no one takes them seriously. Instead of acting upon them, they make a conscious decision to ignore them. The results of their ignorance of the signs cause innumerable injuries, death, & psychological trauma. But, how do you know when someone is ready to pop their proverbial cork & lash out?
Recognizing the warning signs is the best defense against something tragic occurring. In my more than 30 years of researching, writing, & speaking about this violence, I’ve created a list of 24. 2 or 3 of these signs is not, usually, cause for concern. But if you begin to see 5, 6, 7, or more… These are the most prevalent I have found, and we’ll take all 24 in alphabetical order with a few examples mixed in as well.
Many have told me that this is tedious and far too time consuming to be effective. But I ask you one itty bitty simple question? Would you rather your precious time be taken up with looking for these or see dead students or employees on the floor and have to answer the questions of family members, police, lawyers – no doubt you’ll be sued over it – or the news media…or would you rather have spotted those signs, potentially saving millions of dollars, reputational damage, potentially the loss of yourjob, and have those lives back doing what they had been doing?
Attendance Problems:
When you have a co-worker, who is having issues with getting to their work station on-time, even after breaks… Now, just because someone is missing a lot of time, does this mean that they are going to bring a firearm to work and start shooting people? Of course not! There are innumerable reasons why someone is having these types of issues & some of these are their own fault.
Are they pulling A no call no show? If they aren’t calling in and not showing up, this may indicate a problem. Many people have been found dead or in trouble because of not showing up for work. Attendance issues are something to keep an eye on…not only for the bottom line but to assist the employees.
Bullying:
A hot topic for WPV as well as school violence. Many people say that they never bully anyone or that they have never been bullied. I was bullied in school although it wasn’t as bad in the 70s as it is now. I’ve also bullied people, albeit unintentionally.
Being a bully, you can have the tables turned on you. There are multiple incidents of the people being bullied turning it around on the bully. Remember what a trapped animal or rat does?
The breaking point could manifest itself in 2 ways… Either the individual being bullied will lash out, somehow, and attack the aggressor or as in far too many cases of teenagers today…commit suicide.
If the individual being bullied strikes back, then they may lash out at everyone, not just the bully. That means they may think that no one tried to help them and therefore they deserve to be hurt.
This next blog in this series will be later this week.
For More Information on workplace & school violence prevention, read my books:
Murder in the Classroom: A Practical Guide for Prevention & Murder at Work: A Practical Guide for Prevention
Like these blogs? Then please feel free to pass them along, with proper attribution, to friends, colleagues, or anyone who may benefit, with proper attribution. Have them subscribe at my website: Sollars Violence Prevention Training & Consulting
It happens to Anyone…Any Time…Any Where… For any Reason
I May Be Blind, but My Vision Is Crystal Clear
Copyright 2023 Robert D. Sollars
