How Is This Not Being Researched in Business: The Growing Issue of Workplace Violence.

By: Stephanie Diana Eubank

For those who are not familiar with my work, while I start the process of defending and finishing my dissertation on remote work, I teach at California State University Stanislaus and East Bay.  Specifically, I teach Operations Management. I add a component on Remote Leadership and Remote Work from my research to help prepare future Business Leaders for the growing change to a virtual and hybrid workplace. I touched on the topic of Workplace PTSD and its relationship between what is referred to by business practitioners as Toxic Leadership and what is academically called X Type Leadership. Many of us have examples of bad leaders we have dealt with in our careers, especially at the earlier stages.  There are also managers whose leadership style doesn’t translate properly in a remote workplace and can come off as toxic.  Further remote work makes it so that toxic leaders are exposed and documented.

Unfortunately, the work culture tends to back these leaders because they produce a lot although they have a revolving door of employees and a bad reputation.  Rather than calculating all the exit interviews and other Human Resources data to analyze how this is not a sustainable leadership model.  Much like micromanagement, these sort of leadership tactics is only meant to be used in short bursts as needed, not a consistent method of leadership.  In these cases, those managers don’t know how to lead and instead mix up fear with respect.  This mixes up can have devastating implications past how it can hurt a business.

After pointing out these facts to my students, I shifted to the topic of workplace PTSD.  Which is a topic that has been studied mostly in psychology for decades now.  The news has been reporting workplace PTSD, which it goes horribly wrong and results in workplace violence. The news and academic research have even found an uptick in workplace violence, especially since the COVID Pandemic.

A recent and heart-breaking example (and personally, I cried talking about this to my classes and cried again while writing this article) was the family in Merced that was kidnaped and killed.  Per the referenced news articles, an employee who stole from the family’s business and was convicted and imprisoned was released this month.  He went to their business and kidnapped the owners (a wife, husband, and brother-in-law) and their eight-month-old baby girl.  After, the local police were on a massive manhunt and found a burnt van that they were abducted into and later found their bodies in the middle of a field in a neighboring county.  Per the news reports, the suspect, a past employee, believed they still owed him money.  His cohorts were found dead, and the suspect was found attempting suicide.

Another major example is found in a news article referencing a Valley Transit Authority Worker during the pandemic that shot up a transit station and killed many people.  The news and research have been sounding the alarm that the excuse for it is that businesses don’t work, and there is a growing concern about workplace violence. In fact, a referenced Reuters article from 2009 notes how these sorts of workplace violence tend to uptick during recessions.  As we look down the barrel of another recession, we must ask ourselves as leaders what we can do to help calm the waters?

Here are some suggestions for calming the waters and preventing workplace violence:

1. Understand as leaders, we are human.  Also, understanding that our teams and employees are also human.  Once we all agree that we are flawed, then focus on managing the work, not the people.  Specifically by being empathetic and kind rather than just being nice/ superficial.
2. Encourage employee development.  Point out to your teams that nothing is certain right now, and investing in developing new skills helps you at the company you are at and adds to your ability to take those skills with you on your career path.  It shows that you and the company care about them and want to help them invest in themselves.
3. Train Leaders to communicate and lead in less stressful ways and work on toxic habits as a part of employee development.
4. Promote Remote Work.  Remote work lowers the stresses of commuting and gives workers and leaders the ability to have space from ay toxic communication to relax in calmer ways. It also allows more flexibility and the ability to prioritize sleep.
5. Leaders prioritize making the work culture include information on self-care and mental health resources.
6. Stop pushing employees to work unpaid overtime and longer and harder hours than paid for.  It just adds to burnout and increases the possibility of workplace violence.

Also, here are some additional reading resources on workplace violence:

• https://amzn.to/3fqWjUJ
• https://amzn.to/3sLT25I
• https://amzn.to/3TOyMfq
• https://amzn.to/3SVw06J
• https://amzn.to/3gXEDAs
• https://amzn.to/3WkBiM3
• https://amzn.to/3DMe8qT
• https://amzn.to/3zreIry

There is a growing risk of workplace violence to stress, burnout, and workplace PTSD, and with a growing recession, post-COVID issues have made a perfect storm.  To prevent unwanted outcomes in business, we do risk assessments, and these mindful business practices suggested may help protect us all.  Stay safe and remember the fundamental principle of business your employees and teams are your greatest resource, so treat them well.

References

Serrin, G. (2022, October 7). Here’s what we know about the Merced family kidnapping deaths. KCRA. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.kcra.com/article/merced-kidnapping-deaths-abducted-sikh-family-suspect-information/41548620#

Romo, V. (2021, May 27). We’re seeing a spike in workplace shootings. here’s why. NPR. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2021/05/27/1000745927/why-were-seeing-a-spike-in-workplace-shootings

Eubank, S. D. (2022, October 21). Workplace risks shouldn’t mirror risks of service members:  an article on the rise of PTSD caused by bad leadership even in a remote workplace. Dr. Stephanie Diana Eubank DBA Remote Team Research (AKA Dr. Bear). Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://drstephaniebeardbaremoteresearch.org/2022/10/20/workplace-risks-shouldnt-mirror-risks-of-service-members-an-article-on-the-rise-of-ptsd-caused-by-bad-leadership-even-in-a-remote-workplace/

Bunch, K. (2021). When employees turn deadly at work. WebMD. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.webmd.com/men/features/when-employees-turn-deadly-at-work

Doucette, M. L., Bulzacchelli, M. T., Frattaroli, S., & Crifasi, C. K. (2019). Workplace homicides committed by firearm: Recent trends and narrative text analysis. Injury Epidemiology, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-019-0184-0

Tiesman, H., Marsh, S., Konda, S., Tomasi, S., Wiegand, D., Hales, T., & Webb, S. (2022). Workplace violence during the covid-19 pandemic: March–October, 2020, United States. Journal of Safety Research, 82, 376–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2022.07.004

Pihl-Thingvad, J., Andersen, L. L., Brandt, L. P., & Elklit, A. (2019). Are frequency and severity of workplace violence etiologic factors of posttraumatic stress disorder? A 1-year prospective study of 1,763 social educators. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 24(5), 543–555. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000148

Wizner, K., Cunningham, K., Gaspar, F. W., Dewa, C. S., & Grunert, B. (2022). Occupational posttraumatic stress disorder and workplace violence in workers’ compensation claims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 35(5), 1368–1380. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22836

Hampton, T. (2022, January 5). Study holds warning on pandemic drinking. Harvard Gazette. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/01/covid-related-drinking-linked-to-rise-in-liver-disease/

Grossman, E. R., Benjamin-Neelon, S. E., & Sonnenschein, S. (2020). Alcohol consumption during the covid-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey of US adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(24), 9189. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17249189

Wulfhorst, E. (2009, April 22). Recession fuels worries of workplace violence. Reuters. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-workplace-violence/recession-fuels-worries-of-workplace-violence-idUSTRE53L0SV20090422