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Violence in the Workplace:

3 Factors Which Contribute to a Workplace Violence Act of Aggression

by Jeffrey M. Miller

Founder & CEO

Warrior Concepts Int'l, Inc.

If you are a human resources, risk management, or crisis management director concerned about workplace violence, let me ask you a question:

Why do you think violent people lash out when and where they do?

Have you ever thought about that?

Have you ever wondered why the people who commit violent acts...

Choose the victims they do?
Act out when they do? Or...
Choose the location they do?

There are three factors which contribute to a workplace violence act of aggression. Regardless of whether we're talking about an act of violence in the workplace, domestic violence, or any other assault, the three factors are:

The assailant's personality type and predisposition toward violence
Contributing factors leading up to the act itself and...
Environmental factors which cause the person to see the area as "safe" for him or her to commit their act.

While the first factor - the personal factor - is not always a given, as in the case of medical patients who lash out as a result of pain, grief, or medications, there are traits and characteristics that have been identified to allow human resource personnel to weed out possible threats during the hiring process.

Contributing factors are those things which do just that, contribute to the assailant reaching a point and decision where he or she chooses to attack. These factors could be anything from a trigger word, glance, or situation which routinely and habitually set this person off, or it could be days, weeks, months, or years of pent up aggression that simply reaches a boiling point.

And finally, the environmental factor refers to your workplace and the atmosphere, stress-inducers, and other factors which create a certain "feel." Certain environments lead themselves easily to violence, while others subconsciously tell the attacker that his or her efforts would be wasted before they ever got started.

To understand this last factor better, ask yourself this:

"When was the last time you heard of a police officer, soldier, or security professional attacking another police officer, solider, or security professional?"

The answer, at least here in the West is...

Almost never.

And the reason for that is the fact that the environment - the fact that the intended targets are able and willing to defend themselves, virtually negates the possibility of an attack before one even gets started.

Something for you to think about when someone tries to imply that training employees to be able to defend themselves against a workplace violence attack only creates a greater potential for trouble.

Just not so.

Learn more about this and other myths and how to attack-proof your facility in the workplace in the Workplace Violence Awareness Guide To Prevention and Survival.

Jeffrey M. Miller is a former federal police officer, undercover investigator, private detective, and bodyguard. He has taught individuals, groups, organizations, and law enforcement and security personnel the critical, proven, and time-tested lessons for surviving a dangerous, real-world attack. Jeff is the founder of Warrior Concepts International, Inc., the author of the "Danger Prevention Tactics" DVD and co-author of the upcoming book: "Workplace Violence In The Mental Health And General Healthcare System" For more information, visit: http://www.wcinternational.com

If you'd like to make sure you're company is as safe as possible from the effects of workplace violence, I recommend that you call me at my international office in the US at (570) 988-2228 for your free initial assessment

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Violence in the Workplace:

3 Factors Which Contribute to a Workplace Violence Act of Aggression

"When Prevention is NOT ENOUGH!"