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An Early Warning Signal Checklist For Potentially Violent Employees

Source: Dr. Allan Schiffer, president, Pathways Group

  1. History of violent behavior or control difficulties;

  2. Obsessive or excessive interest in weapons, paramilitary training;

  3. Carrying a concealed weapon, flashing a weapon to get a reaction;

  4. Direct or indirect verbal threats of harm;

  5. Intimidating or harassing co-employees or supervisors;

  6. An obsessive involvement with the job as a sole sense of identity;

  7. A loner with low self-esteem, often with a romantic interest in a co-employee;

  8. Paranoid, perceiving a sense of injustice;

  9. Does not take criticism well, holds a grudge, verbalizes a hope that something will happen to offending party;

  10. Comes from an unstable family or recent family, financial or personal problems;

  11. Has a tendency to push the limits of normal behavior (e.g., pranks, jokes);

  12. Has called for help many times in the past without a response, or without the perception that help was offered;

  13. Feels helpless and desperate about conditions at work;

  14. Has few outlets for anger and rage and believes locus of control is external;

  15. Has bounced from job-to-job, is a "baby boomer" with feelings of "entitlement."