Workplace Tragedy

This is a very difficult entry for me to write.

By now, most everyone has read about the laid-off worker who killed his former colleague outside the Empire State Building in New York City.

This is a tragedy for the victim’s family, of course. I don’t want to minimize the pain they must be going through.

However, the minute I heard this story, I thought (selfishly, I admit), “Oh, no, now everyone is going to assume that all laid-off workers are crazy. Just another reason for companies not to hire unemployed people.”

But let’s get the facts straight. From what I read, the person who did this shooting obviously had mental problems. He and the person he shot had had physical altercations at the workplace in the past. So my question is, did someone from the HR department try to mediate that situation? I cannot hold an HR person responsible for spotting an unhinged employee who may be prone to violence, but if two workers have a physical altercation in the office that is a pretty obvious sign there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

It also seemed, from the stories I read after the shooting, that he was an isolated person. Perhaps if there were a relative or friend he could have spoken to about his upset after the layoff, he may have sought counseling, or gotten help in finding another job.

It further seems to me that this was a troubled man who was possibly pushed over the edge by losing his job. We can never know for sure. The man was laid off a year before the shooting, which would indicate his life was in a downward spiral for quite some time.

But to lump all laid-off workers as crazy because of this one incident is wrong and an unfair slime on the millions of good workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. It reminds me of movies back in the ‘70s and ‘80s when all the villains were crazed Vietnam veterans.

Nearly every laid-off worker I know simply packs up their desk, applies for unemployment and tries to find another job. They did not buy a gun and shoot up their former workplace. (The incident also points to the need for better gun control, but that’s for another blog.)

Of the people I worked with who were laid off, the only one who came remotely close to doing anything hostile was a jettisoned co-worker who wrote nasty emails to a former boss. His actions were unfortunate and ill-advised and he was slapped with a cease and desist order. I agree, he should never have written those emails. But I don’t think his actions ever crossed over into threatening or violent. I think he was more angry and frustrated and expressed it in the only way he could.

For the record, I do not condone physical violence of any sort and will never own a gun. Verbal snaps are about as far as I’ll go and by any standard, my heated comments are rare, pretty mild and never insulting. And no, despite my anger over being let go, I think unfairly, I never wrote any nasty emails to former co-workers. What would be the point?

But back to the shooting in New York City. Several articles after the incident did say that losing one’s job is a traumatic experience and care should be taken when letting workers go. Companies, though, seem to think it's not a big deal and is only being done to save their own skins. They don't care what laid-off employees think or feel. So who's really the bad person?

Yet I concede it would be hard for any HR person to know which employee will snap and resort to violence after they lose their job.

Nevertheless, in this instance, there were some definite indications this man was troubled. As I said before, this man got into a physical fight with the co-worker he eventually killed. How could an HR person miss that sign? Part of their job is to handle workplace disputes; it involves more than just making sure forms are signed correctly so the company can legally lay off employees. Most employer health plans have mental health hotlines, so why wasn’t this man referred to one after he got into that fight?

As far as workers having grievances against their employers, one commentator pointed out that most workers today are being mistreated and overworked by their companies. Yet nearly all do not snap or resort to violence.

And if companies are so worried about violence against them by the people they so callously dump, there are some very simple solutions to that potential problem:

• Make sure your company is run properly so there is enough revenue to keep good workers employed.
• Treat us with respect.

That’s not too much to ask, is it?