A poorly handled dismissal can turn a disengaged or struggling employee into an immediate threat.
Workplace violence is a critical and growing concern for organizations across all industries. It encompasses a wide spectrum from bullying and verbal threats to physical assaults and, in the most tragic cases, homicide. While acts of extreme violence often dominate news headlines, they are typically preceded by missed warning signs and failed interventions.
Security professionals and organizational leaders must understand that workplace violence is not a singular event but a risk that can originate internally from employees, contractors, or vendors or externally, such as customers, criminals, or even domestic partners. In many cases, it is a combination of both, such as when an employee’s personal conflict spills into the workplace.
To effectively prevent workplace violence, companies must treat it not as a reactive issue, but as a strategic imperative one that begins with hiring and continues through termination, culture-building, and threat management.
Internal Threats: Hiring, Culture, and Legal Liability
Certain industries including healthcare, education, corrections, and frontline service sectors experience a higher rate of workplace violence associated with insiders. In many of these cases, violence stems from poor hiring practices, a toxic or unmanaged work culture, or failures in leadership oversight.
Hiring is the first and most critical line of defense. However, an increasing number of states have restricted the use of traditional background checks, making it harder to screen applicants through conventional means. That’s why organizations must augment their hiring processes with behavioral risk assessments. These tools help identify patterns of aggression, poor emotional regulation, or confrontational conflict resolution styles.
This mirrors best practices in the banking sector, where credit history is often used to assess whether candidates can be trusted with financial responsibility. Similarly, assessing a candidate’s behavioral history and disposition is essential to ensure they are not a liability to workplace safety.
But even a good hire can become a threat under certain conditions. If signs of aggression, harassment, or instability arise and are ignored, employers may face legal exposure through claims of negligent supervision or negligent retention.
A cautionary example is the Charter Communications case in Texas. A field technician with known behavioral issues murdered a customer in her home. The company allegedly attempted to conceal internal warnings about the employee’s conduct. A jury ultimately awarded the victim’s family over $7 billion in damages, citing the company’s negligence and efforts to cover up prior incidents. The reputational damage alone could take decades to recover from.
Understanding and Interrupting the Pathway to Violence
Workplace violence is rarely spontaneous. Most incidents follow a predictable trajectory known as the Pathway to Violence, which includes:
- Grievance
- Ideation
- Planning
- Preparation
- Implementation
Employees or outsiders on this path may exhibit behaviors such as isolation, obsessive thoughts, outbursts, or veiled threats. These indicators are often visible long before violence occurs but only if someone is trained to see them.
Organizations must develop Threat Assessment Teams (TATs) cross-functional groups made up of HR, security, legal, and behavioral health professionals. These teams evaluate concerning behaviors, coordinate interventions, and monitor individuals who may pose a threat. Importantly, they must be empowered to act before a situation escalates.
Terminations: A High-Risk Inflection Point
Employee terminations are among the most emotionally charged and potentially volatile events in the workplace. A poorly handled dismissal can turn a disengaged or struggling employee into an immediate threat. Conversely, a strategic and respectful separation process can help de-escalate tension and prevent retaliation.
Best practices for safe terminations include:
- Involving corporate security and legal in high-risk terminations.
- Providing fair severance packages, career counseling, or mental health resources.
- Avoiding confrontational or surprise dismissals.
- Conducting post-termination monitoring, especially on social media.
It’s important to note that not all retaliation happens immediately. Some former employees may harbor resentment and act for months or even years after being let go. Continued monitoring of high-risk individuals is essential.
To effectively prevent workplace violence, companies must treat it not as a reactive issue, but as a strategic imperative one.
External Threats: The Public-Facing Danger
Many cases of workplace violence are carried out by individuals who have no formal relationship with the organization. Retail workers, field technicians, executives, healthcare professionals, and media personalities often face the highest exposure to this type of violence.
Real-world examples are sobering:
- Retail employees assaulted during shoplifting incidents.
- A field service technician attacked and held hostage while on a home visit.
- A news anchor stalked, harassed and murdered in public.
- In 2024, a UnitedHealthcare executive in New York was gunned down by a man reportedly enraged over the company’s policies on insurance claims and denials. The suspect, who had no formal affiliation with the company, allegedly acted out of personal grievance. This tragic case highlights how executive visibility, especially in emotionally charged industries like healthcare and finance, can attract targeted violence.
Mitigation strategies for public-facing roles must be tailored:
- Retail environments should implement panic alarms, surveillance, and de-escalation training.
- Mobile workers need GPS tracking, check-in protocols, and access to rapid response support.
- Executives should undergo personal security assessments, travel protection planning, and digital threat monitoring, particularly if their decisions or public roles put them at risk.
A Culture of Safety and Accountability
An effective workplace violence prevention program cannot operate in isolation. It must be embedded in the organizational culture, where every employee is educated, empowered, and encouraged to report warning signs.
Core elements include:
- Mandatory training for managers and employees in recognizing and reporting threats.
- Clear policies and procedures for handling incidents.
- Anonymous reporting mechanisms and a culture that supports whistleblowers.
- Executive buy-in and funding for ongoing threat management programs.
When leaders demonstrate that they take safety seriously and are willing to invest in prevention it builds trust and accountability at every level of the organization.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Wait for the Headlines
Workplace violence is not just a threat, it’s a strategic risk that can result in loss of life, devastating lawsuits, and irreparable reputational harm. As organizations navigate complex workforce challenges, hybrid work environments, and rising mental health concerns, the need for proactive violence prevention has never been greater.
From behavior-based hiring and risk-aware terminations to executive protection and public-facing risk strategies, preventing workplace violence is not the job of security teams alone it’s a cross-functional responsibility that requires commitment from HR, legal, operations, and leadership.
The reality is this: it’s no longer a question of if your organization will be impacted but when. And the steps you take today could mean the difference between a close call and a headline tragedy.
Source: Security Magazine