Personal security at work

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Here's the deal with the new job I started a little over a month ago:

It's a great job. There is only one tiny problem. A co-worker has threatened all of our lives. His exact words were, "If things don't change around here, I'm going to go postal."

I don't know the guy well enough to know if this is a serious threat or just a blowhard blowing hard. My superviser has talked to him and is convinced that he would not act on this. However, I pointed out to my superviser that somebody needs to sit the guy down and say, "Look, we take threats like this seriously. If you make anymore, we will call the police." I don't see that happening.

But today when it was time to close up the office and I wasn't quite ready to go, three of my co-workers waited at the front door for me so I wouldn't be left alone in the office. I feel very nervous and helpless, too.

Any suggestions?

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Yikes!

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My my my my my.. Oiy! Jeez.. I can't think of anything off hand here Swimpstress. On the one hand you could speak up but being so new I could understand why you might feel like you're rocking the boat.

Would any of these other 3 co-workers be willing to speak up? It seems as though they are concerned enough to see it as a real threat too.

Bad ju-ju all around. My regrets...

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Would you be comfortable talking to someone higher-up than your supervisor? I know you haven't been on this job for long, but think about your own safety.

If a kid in school said something like this, they would be detained and questioned immediately. I think your co-worker needs to be seriously questioned for the sake of all the workers there.

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We get a lot of comments like that in my line of work. The rule is always to report it to a company director or manager, as they are under an obligation to provide staff with a safe working environment - and that means emotionally as well as physically safe. They'd get their @sses sued off if it came out there was such a comment, it wasn't investigated thoroughly and anything went wrong.

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Yikes, indeed, Lil K.

Bad Ju Ju is a good way of putting it, Fishin'

Chatoyant, I wish it was that simple. The head honcho knows about it, but he is also not doing anything about it. I think he doesn't know what to do.

This office has been through a lot in the last two years. There was a major coup d'etat about a year ago. The former office superviser was charged with sexual harassment. I thought that was all behind them when I took the job, but there are still a lot of hard feelings.

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Whoa, Swimp. Scary stuff.

There are all kinds of anonymous police hotlines -- perhaps call one and lay out the situation and see what they have to say. It seems like something should be done and the supervisor should maybe be goosed into doing it, without going into who did the goosing.

Found this:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/topics/vprevent.htm

It's for a specific agency, but has some links that look generally useful, or at least likely to provide a lead.

Will keep looking.

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Swimp have you discussed it at all with the on duty guards in your building. I had a similar experience once, I over heard a co-worker threaten an Assistant Secretary of Labor. The first thing I did was report it to the guards on duty, then the personnel, and then to the union representing our Agency. Eventually the employee was fired but at his arbitration I was the only eye witness that would testify. The others that heard the comment did not want to appear to rat out a co-worker. It was pretty scary there were armed guards at the hearing. But you have to do what you have to do sometimes. Often, even supervisors, are afraid to act not because they are afraid of the person per se but because they do not like the confrontation involved. If you think you can handles the confrontation then you should proceed over the supervisor's head.

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Swimpy- That is scary stuff. But how does this guy behave at work every day? Do you ever talk to him? Was this a childish outburst, or a serious threat? I certainly would not want to compromise with your safety, but is the staff blowing the incident out of proportion?

If you really feel threatened, IMO, you should take your concerns to the supervisor. If you get no satisfaction, go higher.

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I'm still looking, haven't found much that is general. Looks like there is some interesting stuff here, but you have to become a member (it's free):

http://www.workforce.com/picosearch/search.php

If that doesn't bring you to the right page, do a search for "threat."

What I worry about is that if this guy really is a problem, I wouldn't want Swimpy's name to be involved in any sort of "ratting out" situation at all. Anonymity if at all possible. I trust her instincts, and I'm concerned that she's concerned.

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Soz, Thanks. I work for a state agency. I'll see if I can find a hotline for us.

Joanne, On duty guards? Ain't no such animal where I work. I am in a field office in a very small town. The closest we have to security would be Barney Fife down at the sheriff's office. Regarding the supervisor: I get the sense that he is battle weary. Apparently this guy, let's call him Doug, has been a royal pain for quite some time. The main object of his wrath is the secretary, who filed the sexual harassment suit. She's the one who is feeling the most threatened. I just learned that Doug made his own advances toward her.

Beth, I think he is taking the situation, if not that specific threat, seriously but is at a loss for how to deal with it. The personnel handbook does not give supervisers much guidance in dealing with this sort of thing.

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Try this link Swimp and remember sexual harassment is violence just like rape. You can make an anoymas complaint to NIOSH

Violance in the Workplace

NIOSH

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Double Yikes.[color=#001bff] One: your short tenure at this job is immaterial to any concern about your safety. Don't let it allow you to delay.
Two: Meet immediately with the three other employees and ascertain from them if there have been any other incidents involving this individual whether it was in the form of speech or action and what, if any, action was taken after those incidents and by whom.
If there are no previous incidents then maybe he was having a bad day, let it go.
If there were any other incidents, then this latest one is part of a pattern of behavior that is detrimental to the safety of all in the company's employ. You and the others need to arrange a meeting regarding this situation at the earliest possible moment with your supervisor in order that the situation be defined in the clearest terms. At a minimum this employee ought to be directed to attend an anger management course. And the condition that any further incidents result in immediate dismissal must be clearly convieged to the individual.[/color]
Three: If you don't feel considerable relief as a result of the actions of management in the next week, start sending out resumes.
Joe

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Soz and Joanne, Thanks for the great links. They have some great information.
I've forwarded the links to my work email. I'm going to share them with the folks in the office.

Phoenix, I have talked with him. It's a small office. He comes across as a guy whose pride has been wounded. He has lost all credibility with the others in the office. He has been reassigned to programs he doesn't know anything about and has resisted learning about. He appears to me to be a guy who is digging his own grave.

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Joe, My short tenure may be making me take this too seriously. The other people in the office are about evenly split between those who take the threat seriously and those who think he's basically a harmless kook. There is much I do not know Grasshopper. I don't want to go charging in demanding action when for all I know the situation may be under control.

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Keep us posted Swimp and take good care of your self. Also start keeping a daily log of events in the office but not at the office. Each night when you get home write a Memo to the file of anything you think is important, sign it and date it, this can be evidence and an the very least a record to jog your memory of events.

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Good idea. Thanks, JD.

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I really feel for you Swimpy. I bartended for 4 years and owned my own taxi for 3 years and I know what it's like to deal with people who make threats. When I was bartending, I had people threaten to kill me after I shut them off and that is one scary feeling. If this guy continues, he needs to be stopped. There is no reason for anyone to have to live in fear from anyone.

I wish you the very best.

Take care of yourself.

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Swimpy - I have nothing sensible to add - so I will just do this:

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

What a tough situation!

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Oof, well, this stinks.

First off, as has been said before, you shouldn't have to have fear in your work place. If you're feeling fear, that should stop - you don't have to take that - whether it's stopped through action on the part of an agency or your supervisor or someone higher up, it still needs to be stopped.

I'd go to the supervisor again, and I'd be firm, e. g. "I'm telling you there is a problem and I need for action to be taken." I realize that this is a new job and that doesn't necessarily put you into the best dealings with your direct boss, but the fact is, you didn't create this situation - the man who made the threats created the situation, and your supervisor has exacerbated things by his inaction.

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