Tag: #Workplaceviolence

Six Ideas On How At Local Levels From The Business Perspective We Can Help Address School Shootings.

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By: Stephanie Diana Eubank

There is a hot-button topic within the political arena in the US regarding the rise in school shootings.  Now my specialty is Business Strategy and Organizational Leadership, emphasizing Remote Work and Remote Leadership. I am also a college Professor and a mother of two boys.  This makes the topic of school shootings hit close to home regarding my safety as a teacher and my son’s safety as a student. The recent events have made this no longer a public school vs. private schools debate but an overall educational safety issue.  With schools being both a business and a tool to train future economic development, I have ideas on how we can use Remote Work, Business Emergency Management, and Workplace Violence Prevention to help ease school shootings.

I want to emphasize that I am not saying we can cure the issue or that legislation is unnecessary.  However, school shootings and workplace violence are such hot-button and controversial topics these days.  We may end up waiting an eternity for policy to address the issue.  No matter what you believe, policy should be done to address the issue. We can all agree it is an issue that needs to be addressed.

With this in mind, I suggest using some already-used business practices to address workplace violence at the town, school district, and local college levels.  Such as the following six ideas that can be implemented to help schools reduce shootings:

  1. Put cameras up around the schools.

Having cameras in the classroom is also considered controversial. To be fair, it helps build normalcy around the fact that most companies have cameras in the office to monitor and protect workers.  This is especially the case for those who work in manufacturing, STEM science fields, and Research and Development or R&D.  Even in remote work, there is the use of “Bossware,” turning on cameras and spying on employees.

However, cameras on campus with a feed that can be tapped by local authorities would help for better planning of emergency services to stop an active shooter with less risk to teachers and students.

  • Develop a panic button for schools.

We see this in Banking, jewelry stores, high-value retail, and personal protection/ security having a silent alarm or “panic button.”  This can help signal to authorities that there is an issue in real-time. There can even be settings to use the panic buttons to track an active shooter or other crimes on campus.

  • Have more access to therapy services not just for students but for faculty.

I was alarmed when reading the research from Nowicki (2020); as seen in the citations below, over 50% of the assailants who commit these acts of violence are former students or faculty/ staff. Showing even more that school shoots have more in joint with workplace violence than we have been led to believe.   And speaking from my own experience of being a student in high school when teachers were on guard post the Columbine Massacre seeing how friends that were just a bit more EMO, Goth, or just loved the style of a nice trench coat were treated as if they were suspects for the next act of school violence I believe a new view is needed for school therapy and councilors. 

In my personal experience, many (not all) counselors can feel judged by students, which is why many gravitate to teachers who have obviously lived more and lived through traumatic stuff. So, I propose training all faculty in “Trauma Informed Care.”  ( You can find more information on the topic at this link https://www.traumainformedcare.chcs.org/what-is-trauma-informed-care/).  From there, set up programs where teachers who feel comfortable are willing to (be paid) have time to listen to students as a drop in time.  If the sessions become more than the faculty member can handle, they can involve school psychologists and work with the students in a judgment-free way to help. 

This plan must also be coupled with additional insurance benefits to cover mental health and therapy to address the extra stress faculty may take or have already been dealing with just by being humans. More should be put in place for faculty to have similar peer-created programs with Human Resources tied in for conflict resolution.  Students are not the only ones committing these crimes. Faculty and staff with grudges also commit these acts of violence. Having more of an outlet and access to therapy without stigma is a great way for us to all work together to heal workplace PTSD or other trauma before they become workplace violence on the news.

These are all standard Human Resource methods for de-escalating workplace conflicts in high-stress jobs. You especially see these tactics used in the nonprofit sector.  They work there and can be implemented to help address the growing issues of school shootings internally.

  • Fund more after school, in school, and in summer programs in the arts. 

I know it sounds like a typical mom ask but hear me out.  My own mom, who worked in education for many years, had the attitude, “Idle hands are the devil’s playground.”  And she and my father paid through the nose, shuttled us to all sorts of after-school sports (cause they had a lot of competitive kids), and got us involved in music.  This also included all of us serving in the community as volunteers.  This made it so I had a community outside my family and more in my life than just school/ work.

Now, I understand not every parent can do all that.  So, I propose to have school districts fund to help with that by having programs and bussing to each program after school.  This will give students more creative outlets and boost the economy by needing more creative arts teachers and staff to address these roles. Also, creating programs to give back to the community through acts of service for the students will help grow empathy and connection with the community. This will also take a load off parents who may not have the luxury or ability to follow through. (You never know what others are dealing with, and having resources like this can be a powerful lifeline for students and faculty).

These concepts are used in several ways in business, such as; many companies use in-service days as a hiring perk that makes the company look good and encourages employees to have a life outside of work.  Many companies also sponsor activities that are non-service based to help employees connect with each other and a team building and trust building activity.

Bussing is a concept many companies use to have manufacturing or locations where many workers don’t live (or in the bay area can’t afford to live) and bus these employees in to help accommodate in-person working with lower commutes.

  • Audit, Remove, and Replace Toxic Leadership

Toxic leaders do more damage than just hurting workplace morale and creating an employee retention issue.  The issue with Toxic Leaders regarding workplace violence and workplace PTSD is they may be the most significant contributor.  And often, in education, we teach teachers how to teach and the subject matter but not enough about business leadership.  School is a business, no matter what anyone says, and business needs a culling of toxic leaders.  When leadership gets the attitude that no one wants to be perfectionists or work anymore, this is immediately reflected by your employees.  This can make an already stressful workplace, like in the educational field, even less manageable and contribute to workplace violence.  Worse yet, when this behavior from toxic leaders is ongoing or systemic, it can create workplace PTSD.  Without proper resources and training for management on how to lead in an organizational leadership methodology with our authentic and empathetic selves, we make disastrous situations.

This is why many organizations hire consulting specialists like me to audit behaviors in the workplace and see where more training or workplace reorganization is needed. Also, many organizations have emergency management specialists but not ones that specialize in business leadership development which can also be a beneficial tool to help prevent workplace violence and create a more productive workplace. These specialists can also help develop training on what to do in a workplace shooting or other violence. Specialists are a vital tool.

  • Remote/ Hybrid Learning.

I want to clarify I mean for middle school and high school students when I suggest Remote/ Hybrid learning.  Some students are too focused on campus life or need more emotional healing and growth space.  When I was growing up, there was a program for students to do hybrid programs. They took a few classes at the high school and either trade school-type courses at the local community college or higher education courses at the community college to take to college when they were done.  The vibe of a college campus is more set up around a person’s individual motivations, not as ridged as a traditional high school as far as schedule, and is more in line with how a project management workspace is set up.  This allows students to gain a different perspective on education and feel more engaged. Not all students fit in with the organizational culture of high school.  Remote and hybrid classes allow students to learn at their pace and still contribute to the dynamics of a school while pursuing their passions through additional resource programs. As a student, I preferred to do online classes because it left more room for creativity and to balance my life with school.

Remote and hybrid work is used in business to help give employees breathing room to be creative and collaborative while letting them balance life or, in some cases, work out issues they are dealing with privately.  (Again, you never know what others are going through, so lack of judgment and systems that give room for healing are helpful to prevent workplace violence).  Remote is here to stay, so we might as well find creative ways to embrace it.

I have written several articles on remote work, emergency management, workplace violence, and workplace PTSD.  After all that research, these six ideas are what I have to offer the world to help do my part in reducing workplace violence, especially workplace violence happening at schools.  I know my advice from the business perspective will not cure the issue of school shootings.  That is a more significant systemic issue that politicians need to take a long hard look at by going to the Gemba, as known in Lean Operations Methodology, to get to the root cause analysis of the problem.  But that is a conversation that, as a nation, we will probably have for years to come.

If you liked this article, like, subscribe, and share. To learn more about workplace violence and PTSD prevention, you can look into my consulting services at wickedbofthewestremoteconsulting.com.  Also, feel free to check out my videos on overall remote organizational strategic leadership on YouTube @Wickedbofthewest or check me out on my other social media at:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Wickedbofthewest

Website: wickedbofthewestremoteconsulting.com

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Blog: drstephaniebeardbaremoteresearch.org

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

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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:

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