Interestingly enough, the issue of workplace violence is one that Black people are not prominent in, and rarely involved in. Similar to the sniper incident in Maryland/Virginia, no one ever thought that a couple of Black guys were involved. Well, here is one study that does not include race as a measuring variable when usually, Blacks are included and in fact displayed in the most negative light.

Violence in the workplace is a serious safety and health issue. Its most extreme form, homicide, is the third-leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), there were 639 workplace homicides in 2001 in the United States, out of a total of 8,786 fatal work injuries.

• In the last decade (1994-2003), there were 164 workplace shootings in America, with a total of 290 people killed and 161 wounded
  
• From 2002 to 2003, the number of workplace shootings increased from 25 to 45 and the number of victims killed in workplace shootings increased from 33 to 69
  
• 51.8% of those who committed workplace shootings experienced a negative change in employment status, including 23.8% who were fired or laid off, and 28.0% who were demoted, suspended, or involved with some type of financial dispute with management
  
• At least 13.4% of the cases reviewed indicated the shooter had a publicly known history of mental health concerns
  
• 9.1% of the shooters displayed warning signs prior to the shootings - warning signs that were usually ignored by those who noticed them
  
• 56.9% of offenders were 40 or older, and 80.3% were 30 or older
  
• 91.6% of workplace shooters were male
  
• At least 13.4% of the incidents reviewed involved the shooting of a current or former intimate partner
  
• 31.7% of workplace shooting incidents occurred in a white-collar job setting, accounting for 31.4% of all workplace shooting deaths
  
• 78.5% of the guns used in workplace shootings were handguns, and 81.2% of those handguns were semiautomatics
  
• 32.1% of all workplace shooters took their own life at the end of their rampage
  
• 35.8% of male shooters committed suicide after killing their coworkers, compared to 7.1% of female shooters
  
• Workplace shooters who committed suicide killed an average of 2.45 people and injured an average of 1.51, compared to 1.47 killed and 0.71 injured by workplace shooters who did not commit suicide

California and Florida were the most dangerous states when it comes to workplace shootings

FROM JUNE 30 THROUGH AUGUST 29, 2003

Updated: August 29, 2003, 11:30 a.m., PST

• August 29, 2003. Nashville, TN, Electric Picture Company, 2 reported dead (including killer).
  
• August 27, 2003. Chicago, IL, Windy City Core Supply, Inc., 6 shot, at least 7 reported dead (including killer).
  
• August 19, 2003. Andover, OH, Andover Industries, 2 killed, 2 wounded (including killer).
  
• August 9, 2003. Wilmington, DE, MBNA America, 2 killed, 1 wounded (including killer).
  
• July 28, 2003. Boynton Beach, FL, Golf Leaf Nursery, 3 killed, 1 wounded, killer captured.
  
• July 25, 2003. Huntsville, AL, Marriott Hotel - Huntsville, 1 killed, killer surrendered to police.
  
• July 23, 2003. New York City, NY, City Hall, 2 killed, (including the killer).
  
• July 23, 2003. San Antonio, TX, Century 21 Real Estate Office, 3 killed (including the killer), 1 wounded.
  
• July 9, 2003. San Angelo, TX, Verizon Wireless, 2 killed, (including the killer).
  
• July 8, 2003. Meridian, MI, Lockheed Martin Plant, 7 killed, (including the killer), 8 wounded.
  
• July 2, 2003. Jefferson City, MO, Modine Manufacturing, 4 killed (including the killer) and 6 wounded.
  
• June 30, 2003. Irvine, CA, Albertsons Grocery Store, 3 killed (including the killer), 3 wounded.

Killer Profile
Unlike youthful robbers, workplace killers are usually older, over 35, and have significant tenure on the job. Almost all are male. Many have been described as "loners" who have been chronically disgruntled and have had problems with authority. The killer profile suggests that they never accept blame for their mistakes and had a tendency to transfer responsibility to others.

The profile indicates that they don't accept change well and are overly suspicious and sometimes even paranoid of co-workers. Many workplace killers believed that they were being intentionally held back from promotion by their incompetent supervisors.

The media would have us believe that these workplace killers were normal everyday people who just "snapped" one day and then went on a killing spree. Well, it doesn't happen that way…people don't just snap! If they did, there would be a lot more incidents of workplace homicides. In almost every case following a shooting spree, investigators were able to identify multiple "red flags" that indicated that the worker was angry, frustrated, and blamed their victims for their troubles.

Some flags seen in other workplace killers have been a pattern of dehumanizing or objectifying others through comments, rude remarks, and harassment. These blaming behaviors are a way of assigning blame to others for one's own shortcomings. Often the conduct increases in frequency and intensity and includes seemingly empty verbal threats.

Employers should watch for changes in behavior, attendance, productivity, personal hygiene, and social isolation. Killing sprees usually are the culmination of many years of unresolved personal problems and mismanaged stresses. Problems with alcohol and drugs, financial worries, and marriage and family pressures often aggravated their problems while coping with this fast-paced society.

Triggers
Most experts agree that there are "triggers" in the workplace that sometimes will seemingly push the unstable person over the edge. How a company handles the triggering event can make a difference in the escalation of a potentially violent situation. Common workplace triggers that might instigate violence are terminations, layoffs, bad performance evaluations, and believing they were past over for promotion.

It seems that it is the workplace-triggering event that often brings the focus of the aggression against the employer rather than some other target. However, we have seen rampages where family, friends, and co-workers were all targeted as if in one clean sweep. What is workplace violence?

Most people think of violence as a physical assault. However, workplace violence is a much broader problem. It is any act in which a person is abused, threatened, intimidated or assaulted in his or her employment. Workplace violence includes:

• Threatening behavior - such as shaking fists, destroying property or throwing objects.
  
• Verbal or written threats - any expression of an intent to inflict harm.
  
• Harassment - any behavior that demeans, embarrasses, humiliates, annoys, alarms or verbally abuses a person and that is known or would be expected to be unwelcome. This includes words, gestures, intimidation, bullying, or other inappropriate activities.
  
• Verbal abuse - swearing, insults or condescending language.
  
• Physical attacks - hitting, shoving, pushing or kicking.

Rumors, swearing, verbal abuse, pranks, arguments, property damage, vandalism, sabotage, pushing, theft, physical assaults, psychological trauma, anger-related incidents, rape, arson and murder are all examples of workplace violence.

Workplace violence is not limited to incidents that occur within a traditional workplace. Work-related violence can occur at off-site business-related functions (conferences, trade shows), at social events related to work, in clients' homes or away from work but resulting from work (a threatening telephone call to your home from a client).

Which occupational groups tend to be most at risk from workplace violence?
Certain occupational groups tend to be more at risk from workplace violence. These occupations include:

• Health care employees,
  
• Correctional officers,
  
• Social services employees,
  
• Teachers,
  
• Municipal housing inspectors,
  
• Public works employees, and
  
• Retail employees.
  
• Of the occupations examined, police officers experienced workplace violent crime at rates higher than all other occupations (261 per 1,000 persons)
  
• Most workplace victimizations were intraracial. About 6 in 10 white and black victims of workplace crime perceived their assailant to be of the same race.
  
• More than 80% of all workplace homicides were committed with a firearm.

© 2005 By Afro Staff