Several large companies/agencies/organizations announced this month that they expect workers to return to the office full time. This has meant that many employees are evaluating the work environment in ways that before they had just accepted e.g., in-person collaboration had always seemed the only way to get projects completed, but during the pandemic it was shown that many of these things could be accomplished remotely/virtually and/or with limited face-to-face meetings. Another aspect of office life which is being considered in a way that it perhaps wasn’t before, is safety. For many people their “activity spaces” shrunk during the pandemic e.g., people restricted the places they went to for their leisure and social activities, which has meant that now they may be reevaluating these spaces from a personal safety perspective. When we get used to being in a location, that doesn't result in us getting harmed, familiarity tends to result in complacency as regards safety. However, as we look to return back to these places after an absence, the lack of familiarity may cause us to consider whether it is actually safe or not. The recent spate in mass shootings has led to many employees thinking about their safety in the workplace, and how returning to the office, instead of working from home/remotely may compromise this. Although workplace shootings are not a common occurrence, when they do occur it is often because many apparent warning signs have been either missed, dismissed, or discounted. In this article I want to look at some of the common signals that can be used to identify an employee/co-worker who may be at risk of becoming violent in the workplace.

               Workplace killer, Joseph, T. Wesbecker, was an “Injustice Collector”; a term coined by retired FBI profiler, Mary Ellen O’Toole. Injustice collectors are individuals who never forget, never forgive, never let go, and engage in violence against those who they perceive as responsible for the unfair acts and behaviors committed against them. Most of us, who have siblings, have had the experience of a brother and/or sister mentioning something from childhood – that we’ve forgotten – where we treated them unfairly or badly. When this happens our normal response is one of surprise, and bewilderment that after all these years the incident is still significant to them. When we look back on the injustice that they are referring to, we probably think of it as something that is irrelevant, insignificant or that it has been misremembered etc., however to the other person the event was a major and important one. More importantly, it is one they have attached meaning to. There are individuals who attach significance and meaning to every interaction they have e.g., if somebody forgets to say thank you, or they don’t hear it being said, it’s taken as a deliberate slight etc. If they aren’t complimented on every piece of work they do, then their manager must not like them. Each injustice is collected, and an overall narrative created. Joseph, T. Wesbecker, became convinced that he was being treated differently to his co-workers. He believed he was being singled out by his supervisors, and he eventually came to believe that the only way he could rectify these injustices was to engage in a shooting spree against them. He started on the top floor, where management were located (those who he believed had committed the most significant injustices against him), and then worked his way down to the printing press floor, where he eventually killed himself – of all the different types of rampage killers, those who do their killing in the workplace have the highest success rate of suicide; even higher than suicide terrorists. Whilst, we have all experienced injustices against us – whether deliberate or inadvertent – most of us get over them. However, a few develop a victim narrative, where they come to believe that the world is conspiring against them. Insignificant events become meaningful, and the benign actions and behaviors of others become deliberate and conspiratorial. This doesn’t mean that all individuals who see the world in this way go on to commit violent acts, but coupled with other behaviors etc., it becomes a warning sign.

               Injustice collectors, identify with other injustice collectors, and when those they identify with are those who have engaged in violence, such as mass shootings, then this is a significant red flag. Wesbecker, talked about Pat Sherrill as being a hero. Sherrill had committed the 1986 mass shooting, at his workplace in Edmond Oklahoma, in 1986, three years previously to Wesbecker’s shooting spree. Like Wesbecker he was an injustice collector whose rampage was triggered by a disciplinary meeting with his supervisors. This is another characteristic of workplace shootings i.e., there is normally an identifiable triggering event that prompts the killing spree. This is something that those in Human Resources should take note off e.g., it is better to do a disciplinary hearing or a firing on a Friday afternoon, rather than mid-week. This gives the person who has been fired or disciplined the weekend over which to “cool off”, rather than possibly reacting emotionally by coming in the next day with a weapon etc. For an injustice collector, a disciplinary hearing may be the culminating event in a string of injustices that convinces them that the only option left is a violent one. It is also worth those involved in the hiring and firing processes of employees looking for signs of a potential injustice collector at the interview stage; most injustice collectors are more than happy, when prompted, to tell of the unfair ways they were treated in their last job/position. Whilst the ability to do the advertised job is an important factor of any interview, so is ensuring the safety of existing employees.

               When predicting risk, it is important not to rely solely on one factor, such as whether an individual is an injustice collector, but rather to look at how different elements that signify danger cluster together e.g., does the person with a sense of injustice, also identify with individuals who have committed violent acts, do they have permanent exclusion narratives (something you can read about in my previously published article “Permanent Exclusion Narratives” by clicking here ) etc. It is when these things come together that the risk of violence increases.