Criminal checks

In 1995, the Workplace Violence Research Institute found that: “Every workday, an estimated 16,400 threats are made, 723 workers are attacked, and 43,800 are harassed.”

That’s a lot of violence. Most of it isn’t dramatic cable-news-coverage stuff, but none of it makes for a better workplace. When violence is part of the working environment, productivity and morale both drop.

Your first line of defense is to hire smart, do your criminal checks, check references, and use other employment screening tools. Watch for things in a person’s past that might indicate trouble ahead. This can also help prevent a negligent hiring lawsuit if bad things happen later.

But even so, a great deal of workplace violence doesn’t come from people with a police record or a history of violence. It comes from people who are frustrated and angry and bring that anger to work with them. So part of your task is to spot potential problems early.

Dawn Kubik is an attorney with Mountain States Employers Council Inc. in Colorado Springs. She’s written an excellent piece in the Colorado Springs Business Journal called Minimizing the cost of violence in the workplace. She includes a list of warning signs.

• Attack behavior […]