Preventing Workplace Violence: Early Signs, Real Strategies

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You'd be surprised how many companies do not have a workplace violence policy in place.

Um, and this, you know, this topic of, um, active threat workplace violence, what whatever term of the, of the week it is, right, uh, is probably the most important safety topic in emergency preparedness of the 21st century.

Violence is something we all hope never happens in our workplace, but [00:01:00] hope will only get us so far if it does. In this episode, we're taking a deep dive into the realities of workplace violence with some data and insights that may surprise or even shock you. We're also sharing prevention strategies to prepare you for possible scenarios and how proactive actions can truly.

Make a difference. Today we're joined by Karla Baldini, a partner at Fortress Consulting, a workplace training firm. Karla began her career as a police officer who now organizes and conducts client-based security preparedness and consultations, testing, and training programs. She also conducted a recent SHRM webinar on how organizations can enhance safety and resilience through rigorous actionable guidance.

We'll include an exclusive link for our SHRM members to access the webinar. And Karla, welcome to All Things Work. Thanks, Anne. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Really happy to have you today. We know that this is such [00:02:00] an essential topic, so Karla SHRM regularly releases research on civility in the workplace that our most recent report and the 2025 Ability Index found in civility remains a common occurrence in everyday life and the workplace with more than 208 million acts of incivility witness or experience per day.

United States. United States, and that ranges from simple rudeness to even physical aggression or violence. So Karla, we've all experienced some form of incivility and we know workplace violence doesn't just happen outta the blue. So how can some of these smaller acts of incivility, not all of them, uh, become warning signs for us to take seriously.

Well, Anne, you mentioned the statistics there, and those are, uh, obviously that's a broad scope that you're talking about, and even if we talk about really, uh, egregious acts of violence up, up to [00:03:00] homicide, you know, the, the, the, the, the spectrum is, is broad. Um. The likelihood of of, of that happening is slim, you know, of the millions of people in the workplace, uh, the likelihood less than 1%.

However, just like you said, the prevention portion and preparing and the safety aspect is something that we can't overlook. We do it for all other emergencies. Why wouldn't we do it for workplace safety? Uh, and, and the warning signs is the first place to start. Um, one thing that we focus on a lot is on defining what workplace violence is and, and having a policy in place.

If, if your, if your workplace doesn't have a policy, then we don't have any guidelines to follow. And there's not an, there's not a, a, a path for employees to report these, these kinds of, of behaviors and, and somewhere to stand on. So those warning signs have to live [00:04:00] in the policy and the policy has to provide some sort of, of guidance, uh, on reporting and action for employees.

You know, you discussed the importance of, um, you know, preparedness policy. Um, how important is it for organizations to recognize the link between, you know, maybe everyday incivility and the risk of more serious incidents? Well, the, the majority of these incidents, they don't, they're, they don't start and end in a vacuum a lot of times.

Uh, there's a catchphrase that people snap. People don't snap, they simmer. And with that being said, that there are clues and little, little breadcrumbs that are left along the way that people pick up on, and that's where those wine, that's where those warning signs and those characteristics of, of that behavior live.

Exactly. I mean, it's, it's really even just to see something, say something, I know it, it, that feels like beating a dead horse with that [00:05:00] phrase. Um, but it really, uh, goes a long way because I feel like at the end of something that may be more violent happens, especially in a workplace setting, um, the first thing you hear is, oh, I wish I said something.

I, I, you know, I did notice this and I kind of wish I took it more seriously. Sometimes you hear that, right? I, I guess in your history. Sure. And I think we, we get to this in the questions and we can come back to it and, and talk about it more, but, um, we don't hear about the incidents that are avoided. But when there is an incident that is a likely phrase, uh, of a witness or a coworker who said, oh, Joe, or, you know, Melissa, the, the, these behaviors were there, we should have said something.

So let, let's go to the opposite side, like you mentioned where, you know, you hear of success stories. Could you share a story in your experience or even a case study where an employee's proactive approach or action made a [00:06:00] real difference in workplace safety? So you're not gonna read that kind of stuff and sensationalized media because it's not.

It's not sexy, you know, it's not something that, you know, oh, we, we kept somebody from being violent. You're not gonna read about that. However, in our line of work, uh, we work with a lot of, uh, corporations and, um. Executives would reach out and say, Hey, this person is exhibiting these warning signs. Sh what should we do?

And, uh, this is where we kind of get plugged in early. Um, and ideally you get plugged in early. If the person's already been terminated, we, we lose our ability to get in and, and have leverage. Um, but when someone. Notices the behavior early and can get help and can leverage the, the policy that's in place, uh, any kind of, um, crisis intervention team that's been identified from the, from the company.

That's where we find that [00:07:00] violence is mitigated on the front end. Exactly, exactly. It's not often in the headline. Um, but it's always great to see it when you do see it in that headline. 'cause it can really teach someone something at the end of the day and maybe save even another life. So sharing that news more, we hope to do that.

And so, um, you know, we, we discuss about. You know, being prepared is, is just the best situation to be in, uh, because you're more likely to spot those signs. As you mentioned before, um, you know, a situation escalates. So could you give us a few signs or concerning behavior examples to look out for? Sure. And I think those are things that need to be identified in a policy early on so that the employees know what their role is and what those reporting procedures are.

But we're looking for some really basic stuff and it's pragmatic, um, and whether you work from home. Whether you work in the office, you're, you're still, you're still, uh, interacting [00:08:00] with coworkers, right? And you're gonna pick up on concerning behaviors, whether that's work related, maybe that's personal related, and they're, um, you know, leaving some trails and, and clues about those in the workplace.

The second one is emotionally distressed behaviors. Um. I think that's pretty self-explanatory. And the third one is bizarre behavior. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Bizarre, uh, and behavior that contributes to mental health issues. Those need to be identified and someone needs to be notified about that stuff immediately.

Whether it's the HR leader, uh, your supervisor, uh, someone needs to be identified by the company in the policy so that. We are making sure that we're making notifications and the employees need to know that. Whatever the, what the protocol is, HR or the crisis team, whoever, that they're taking action. And action doesn't necessarily mean the person needs to be fired the next [00:09:00] day, but they need to know that they're taking your report seriously.

And they're looking into it either getting the person help or figuring out how to keep the rest of the employees safe. And number one, it, we have to create an environment in the workplace where people feel confident in passing the information up and knowing that leadership is going to look into it and it's not gonna be punitive in nature.

Right? So if you. Complain to your leadership about Melody. Right. And you have to know that they're not gonna put you and Melody in the same room to chat about it. Mm-hmm. Right? That's not, yes, that's not reasonable. Mm-hmm. Uh, uh, a proper, um, discipline team needs to look into these matters, um, as a group, multidisciplinary group, and take action appropriately and.

That doesn't mean that it's gonna be punitive against the other person, um, or [00:10:00] immediately punitive against the person who's, who's, um, exhibiting these behaviors, right? It that we just have to create a culture that's confident in the protocols and seeing that stuff is take, is, is happening when they do report, and not only on the front end, but they need to know what to do in the event that something does happen.

In worst case scenario, what do we do if something does happen? So if we create the confidence in policy and in our protocols, we create a culture of people that embrace safety and embrace the early reporting, and they're not afraid, uh, or intimidated as, uh, I think it was your word as to what's gonna happen in the event that they do report.

Exactly, and it really comes down to workplace culture and psychological safety. Yes. I think that's huge. So thank you for bringing that up. So when it comes to. Safely [00:11:00] reporting, safely sounding that alarm, because of course, another part that's going through our brain is, you know, what happens when I do this?

Um, so is there a specific protocol you'd suggest, um, people to follow, whether it's workplace leaders or the average employee for safely reporting? Um, you'd be surprised how many companies do not have a workplace violence policy in place. Um, and this, you know, this topic. Of, um, active threat workplace violence, what whatever term of the, of the week it is, right?

Um, is probably the most important safety topic in emergency preparedness of the 21st century, right? And, uh, there's still a lot of firms and companies that, that have not embraced this and ha are not including it in their HR handbook. Secondly, we. We've been doing fire drills in this country since, [00:12:00] well, number one, you and I, uh, have been doing this since we were little kids in school.

Yep. Right. It's just part of our day. It's part of our, you know, year. It's part of our week, whatever it is. If you live in the Midwest, you do tornado drills. Mm-hmm. So, mm-hmm. This, this needs to be the fire drill or the fire prevention safety of the 21st century. And until we start embracing it as. As something that needs to be at the top of mind, we're gonna be behind.

Right? Nobody's, nobody's dying in, in, uh, uh, commercial structure, high rise fires in the 21st century. It's just not happening, right? But hundreds of people a, a year are dying as a result of homicide in the workplace. Um, so some type of workplace violence. So we've gotta start embracing it. We definitely do.

I agree. And so we, we've, we kind of talked about, um, you know, like the high rise setting, uh, the traditional office setting. And I know we discussed this, uh, you know, before we kicked off our episode, uh, in private, but [00:13:00] desk-less workers, um, you know, are experiencing things a little differently 'cause they're out in the field, whether it is a construction site or, um, you know, your.

USPS delivery driver, or you are a reporter like me who I was out in the field with, oftentimes very alone, uh, covering maybe some intense situations like a crime that occurred in a neighborhood and try and talk to neighbors. Um, that is a very specific situation for the industry that I was in, but more public facing jobs.

Do you see differences? Um, in how people should respond or any situations do you see the difference between desk-less workers situations and workplace office traditional settings? Sure. Um, this, I mean, this is exactly my wheelhouse and this is what we do. Um, people, human beings don't learn from a talk.

Right. I mean, [00:14:00] this is informative what we're doing, but people are only gonna remember about 7% of what we say. That's just what happens. Human processing, right? How do we get, how do we get good at things? You have to do it right, so you have to physically practice these things. So if you're in a high rise setting, part of workplace safety training needs to be policy.

Assessing the site and then we gotta, we gotta train in person. We've gotta, we gotta walk through some of these things and put our hands on these doors, put our hands on where we'd go, identify the exits, all those things, and practice it. We don't have to do anything scary. We don't have to, you know, light off firecrackers or have somebody pretend to be dead or nothing.

We don't have to do weird stuff like that. Right. But just a little bit of stimulus so that we can practice. And we have to practice safely. Um, but if we expect to learn from a video, our bar is pretty low, right? So we have to just like a fire drill, you gotta walk outside and identify where you're [00:15:00] gonna, where you're gonna go to, right?

So it's the same thing. And if you're a desk-less worker, let's look at the opposite side of that. Yeah. Really. You know, a lot of times we get a lot of clients that come to us and say, Hey, will you teach us, um, some self-defense stuff? Or will you do, uh, you know. Personal, um, defense safety training or whatever.

I don't, we don't think it's a really great idea. Um, you know, if you wanna learn how to become a ninja or, or whatever you wanna be confident with your hands and feet, yeah. Then you probably need to train three or four times a week. If you don't do that, then it's not gonna be there for you, however.

Mm-hmm. Uh, informed awareness or situational awareness, you know, is a word that people are, it kind of triggers people. Not just having your head on a swivel. Mm-hmm. But what are you looking for? Right? How can you think about, um, yes. My head's on a swivel, or my favorite is, you know, I've been a police officer for a long time, so a lot of cops [00:16:00] always say, oh, I've, I always sit facing the door.

Well, that's great, but what are you looking for? Exactly. So not only being aware, but. What am I informing myself to be aware of? So am I looking for people? Am I looking for things that deviate from the baseline? What is the baseline? What is the norm? You know, you're in Newport. What is the norm in the downtown area at 4:00 PM What is the norm in Chicago at 3:00 AM you know, in South Loop area?

What is the norm in la? At 6:00 AM So what, whatever that, wherever the audience is, you know, you have to establish what your baseline is. No matter if you're working from home, you're in the parking deck at work, you're out with your family. So what is that baseline and what do you need to be looking for?

And I don't want people to, you know, listen to this and be, uh, you know, nervous all the time and be worried. [00:17:00] That's not the point. The point is. Take a few seconds and identify what you would do. You're in a new place, you're at the airport, you're at a restaurant, you're at a bar, you're at a concert. Where would you go?

What would you do? Just take a few seconds, look around, inform your brain. All those things are just little, little nuggets that, uh, help you be more confident and help you be more aware. Thank you for breaking that down. 'cause like we said, not every workplace is that office setting. It's not all the same.

So everywhere is different. Every protocol training will be different. So thank you so much for bringing and your personal, this is all applicable in your personal life too, you know? Yes, yes. And your employers should care about your safety in your personal life. Mm-hmm. So everything should be, you know, should be applicable.

Definitely. Great. So Karla, we, we know early reporting and recognizing early signs are critical, as you mentioned, but proactive and preventative training is just as important. We touched [00:18:00] on this a bit, but what are the key elements of an effective annual workplace violence prevention training curriculum, and how can organizations, um, ensure both leaders and frontline employees are actively engaged in these programs year after year?

That's a great question, and, uh, you kind of heard me beat the drum on this earlier, but we've been doing fire prevention and safety training our whole lives for decades in the United States. It's been a law. It's, it's a, a, you know, the NFPA has protocols that have been in place for decades. Um, and, and because of those protocols, you know, there's lit signage at exit points.

There's sprinklers, there's early detection systems, there's required training. And what happened because of all these things? Well, people didn't perish in buildings, right? So, um, we're behind the eight ball and we need to translate this over to workplace safety. And the first step [00:19:00] is defining it. Having a policy in place that the employees are aware of.

Um, a lot of times companies publish their handbook or their, their policies and people don't read it. So we gotta make sure we have a setting where they are aware of it. Two, um, have, have a, have somebody, have a consultant, have somebody who is knowledgeable. Uh, do an assessment of your space and give you some recommendations.

Uh, and those recommendations need to revolve around. Internal notifications to the rest of the, of the employees in the space, uh, and, and what protocols employees are, are gonna follow in the event that something does happen, it falls back on them eventually. But we gotta identify some options for people.

And obviously most companies are not gonna, uh, you know, mount a rifle on the wall every 15 yards and build, uh, Jodi Foster panic rooms around the place that's not pragmatic. However, we gotta [00:20:00] have some options. Mm-hmm. And then the third piece of this is site specific training. And, uh, I, you know, like I said, I, I like doing these and we, we can talk, but this is not training the, we ha we have to do things with our hands to get good at it, right?

Just think about anything that you do. You play an instrument, you play a sport, muscle memory, right? So we have to build that in, in a site-specific way for people to feel confident. And by implementing all three of these phases, the confidence. In leadership that is created with that and, and the comradery with the employees, it goes through the roof, right?

So, um, a lot of times we do training with companies and once they put these things in place and we do the training, the first thing that they say is, man, I'm so glad my company is taking this seriously. And a lot of people are like still, uh, saying, oh, why are we doing this training? Did [00:21:00] something happen?

No, nothing happened. Your company is taking this seriously and they're relieved. Mm-hmm. They're, they're, they're happy and they feel like, um, their company is one step ahead of other people. Right. So I think that the confidence that's, that is built with it. Mm. And the comradery around it, those two things, confidence and comradery are, are critical.

Right, and the preemptive approach, you know, instills confidence like you mentioned, and so always I, I love that. So, all right, we're going to walk through some real world scenarios about workplace violence prevention, but first, let's take a brief pause for a quick message about some exciting bonus content for this episode.

Hey everyone. We'll get right back to the conversation. But first, for SHRM members tuning in, we have an exclusive resource to share SHR m's. Understanding Workplace Violence Prevention and Response Toolkit. This comprehensive online guide is designed to help you [00:22:00] proactively address and manage workplace violence risks with confidence Inside you'll find step-by-step protocols.

Practical checklists and customizable templates to support prevention, reporting, and response efforts in your organization. If you're watching on YouTube, just click the link above for instant Access or find the link in this episode's description. This is one of the many advantages of being assure member.

Now back to the episode. So for this next segment, I'd love to walk through some scenarios with you. We'll call it Pause or Proceed. I'll share a situation. You can weigh in on how the observer should really respond or report it to HR. This is all for everyone's safety and mind. So you ready to jump in?

Okay. Ready? All right, so first, let's say you notice a coworker has posted troubling messages about feeling angry or resentful about their workplace on social media. Pause or perceived. [00:23:00] So, uh, I'm gonna pause and um, number one, we got all kind of, all kind of opportunities here. What's the social media policy and with at regarding work?

Right? So that might be a violation there. Um. Also remember what I talked about, about informed awareness? You know, what's the baseline, what's the baseline, um, of the culture at work, right? So is it reasonable for people to complain and moan about sports and stuff online throughout the day? Or is it not that kind of setting?

Is it buttoned up? Right? So I've gotta, I gotta take the temperature on all those things. Um, you know, I joke around a lot. I've been a police officer for a long time, but. You know, you come to the police precinct and if you don't hear. Probably some foul language and some people jaw at each other, then something's probably wrong that day.

But that's the base, you know, that's the, that's the baseline coach, right? Mm-hmm. You know, we, but you step into a more buttoned up corporate environment, [00:24:00] and that's not, that's not, that's not allowed, right? So let's take a temperature on the baseline, um, uh, of, and our, our awareness, right? And if these are, and if these are making you feel uncomfortable.

Then report it and it should be identified in the policy, what's inbounds and what's out of balance. And the clearest way to say that is any kind of, um, um, language or behavior that is intimidating, um, or, or threatening in nature, you know, and that's intimidating or threatening in nature, then it's out of bound and it needs to be addressed.

And so let's say your next scenario is you receive an email from a coworker containing veiled threats or a really aggressive language. What do you do in this situation? I'm gonna do the same thing. Um, I'm not gonna try to intervene with the, the other employee, the coworker. Um, the, the idea here is, [00:25:00] is that.

HR, uh, leadership, whoever that multi-disciplinary uh, uh, crisis response team, whatever is put together in place, is prepared to deal with these things. And ideally, we have this culture where people know that that's not allowed. Right. So it's gonna be an immediate red flag. Um, and, and then if maybe this person is, is an outcry for help, I don't know.

But if we identify it early and we get the, we loop in the right folks, um, hopefully we can address it and mitigate it, uh, in the best way possible. So we listed a couple examples where you would pause, but do you have an example of when you would, you know, proceed to try to deescalate the, the moment maybe if it's two people yelling in, in an office or conference room or something like that?

Yeah, I mean, deescalation is a hot button, um, term of the last five or six years. And, and really, [00:26:00] um, it's tricky 'cause you've gotta recognize if somebody is number one, willing to listen. Um, and, and gonna be able to deescalate because you can't go in and two people are arguing and say, Hey, calm down.

That's the silliest thing you could ever try to do. So, uh, you know, you have to make sure that. The, the, the thinking brain is on, uh, a lot of times people are super upset and emotional and in this emotional and hype, hyper hyperactive state, they're not gonna listen. So we have to, you know, establish rapport and get to a place where the person is actually willing to have a conversation.

And if we can't get to that point, then it's, it's not for us to do. And you get a lot of people in the workplace that don't feel comfortable doing that. You know, and they, they feel better just going the other direction. Um, you know, if, if you're close to these people and, and you feel like you [00:27:00] can help and maybe diffuse the situation by being a good listener or a moderator, and hopefully it's not anything important, but the minute we're talking about violence, we, we need to get, we need to get going on, on reporting.

We need to get going on, getting another pair of hands in there and whether it involves the police or uh, or leadership. These were wonderful insights. Uh, you know, I, I'm really glad we had this conversation. Workplace violence prevention is a complex topic extending far beyond coworker interactions For our SHR members, we have exclusive bonus content where Karla will bring violence prevention strategies to life through practical scenarios with specific insights for how.

HR teams should respond in these situations to access this valuable resource, just follow the link in our episode description, or click the link above if you're watching on YouTube. Otherwise, Karla, thank you so much for joining us. We learned so much about this important topic, really essential, and [00:28:00] hopefully, uh, more violence can be prevented.

Thanks, Anne. Appreciate it. All right, we'll catch you next time. If you enjoyed our conversation today, be sure to subscribe wherever you enjoy your podcast, so you never miss a new episode. Also, did you know All Things Work is more than a podcast? That's right. We're also a weekly newsletter that includes in-depth articles and the latest research from SHRM To keep you in the know, just head to SHRM dot org slash all things work to signup plus follow SHRM on social media to view the latest clips and join the conversation on game-changing topics.

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