America Has an Anger Problem. Should Your Workplace Violence Prevention Plan Reflect That?

America has an anger problem. One that impacts your employees and their families, your clients, your customers, and those in the community too.

Should California employers factor our national anger problem into your workplace violence prevention plan?

Yes. And in this piece we’ll discuss why.

I learned about violence, its causes, and its prevention, through 30 years of conducting civil and criminal litigation investigations into violence incidents. Including many cases brought against employers over violence targeting employees, clients, and customers. And through conducting third-party internal fact-finding investigations on behalf of employers into workplace violence incidents and threats. And finally, by keeping myself safe while working in some very dangerous environments.

Download my free CA workplace violence prevention checklist to help guide you while creating your workplace violence prevention plan.  

What’s Behind Our National Anger

Anger is widespread. The reasons vary from person to person. Here are some of the possible explanations for why anger, and grievance, have escalated into workplace violence safety hazards:

•  A belief that the system is rigged against them.
•  Social media uses fear and anger to drive engagement. 
•  Elevated stress from financial challenges.
•  Political polarization. 
•  World events.
•  Greater individual isolation and loss of a sense of community.

Remember that iconic line from the 1972 film the Godfather, about how it wasn’t personal, just business (paraphrasing). These days, because of the collective level of anger, it seems like everything is personal. And because of that, any perceived slight, real or imagined, can lead to an explosion of violence.

The Anger Problem is Real

An NPR-IBM Watson poll conducted in 2019 found that 84% of Americans believe that we are angrier as a society than a generation ago. And 42% of those surveyed said they themselves were angrier than they had been in the past.

And that survey was conducted before Covid, January 6th, and the wars in Ukraine and Israel, which have only increased the level of anger. 

According to an October 2023 Public Religion Research Institute survey, 23% of Americans now believe violence is acceptable for political purposes. If anything, that statistic shows just how easy anger can lead to violence.

And then there’s those in need of mental health services for their anger that just can’t get help, even if they wanted it.

One survey of mental health services found that nearly 160 Million Americans live in places with too few mental health professionals to meet the demand for mental health services. Nationally, there are about 8,000 too few mental health service providers relative to the need for services.

And here’s a local signifier in California of how this increase in anger leads to threats of violence.

In 2022, according to the LAPD, road rage incidents in Los Angeles hit a 7-year-high.

How Employers Should Factor This Anger and Its Potential for Violence Into Their Prevention Plans

Typically, to assess your employees’ workplace violence safety hazards, you’d focus on the four source types of workplace violence, and look at your employees’ risk to those types of violence.

But, regardless of which of the four source types of workplace violence your employees may ordinarily face a risk from, the collective anger problem can lead to workplace violence safety hazards in ways employers don’t ordinarily think about. 

Here are just a few of the ways that the collective level of anger can easily lead to workplace violence safety hazards for your employees that you might not normally consider:

•  Road rage incidents.
•  Gender based violence
•  Blaming service providers for perceived failures in the outcome of those services.
•  Confrontations while working in the community.

Employees that work in the community have to be prepared to anticipate and avoid being targeted in road rage incidents. And that is so whether they are driving in a car to the next work destination, or walking on foot. Vehicles are weapons. And angry people have used them as such clear across the country. 

Sometimes those incidents are targeted, and sometimes it’s just being in the wrong place at the wrong time when an angry person hits the accelerator and points his car at innocent people. 

Either way, employers need to educate and train employee who work in the community about how road rage can be a safety hazard while they’re out in the community.

Gender based violence in the community is very real. It’s driven by anger. And in terms of domestic violence, it can easily spill over into the workplace. But so too can other forms of gender based violence. The kind we typically don’t think about when it comes to employee workplace violence safety hazards. And that can range from sexual assaults to shootings like the one at the yoga studio in Florida. 

As part of your workplace violence prevention plan, employers should ensure that female employees are aware of gender based safety hazards, their sources, and are trained in what to do should they come face to face with just such a safety hazard.

Providing services is what many professionals and their employees do. And, any service provider knows that results are never guaranteed. In less volatile eras, those receiving services or their families, did not react with explosive anger towards those providing them with services when those services did not produce the results they wanted.

But today, employers providing services to the public must prepare employees for the possibility that those same services can lead to violence from an angry person who believes they’ve been wronged in some way by the service provider. 

And it’s not just the clients or patients receiving the services, but because of the high level of community anger, their family members can react violently to results they didn’t want.

And the safety hazards from this higher level of community anger extends beyond those providing the services to any employees that handle customer service too. Employers must include in their workplace violence prevention plan how they’ll educate and train employees who interact with the public when customers, clients, or patients report problems.

One of the greatest safety hazards to employees from this increase in anger arises where the community and workplaces intersect.

According to people who knew the shooter at the dance club in Monterey Park in 2023, the shootings appear to have been driven by this type of anger.. 

And in many parts of California, there are homeless encampments that end up being in front of or near to workplaces. Life on the streets is extremely dangerous for those who live there. And the proliferation of drug use along with a lack of mental health services, has led instances of angry outbursts turning into acts of violence directed at employees, clients, and customers of workplaces near those encampments.

Employers should include in their workplace violence prevention plans education and training that help employees recognize and respond to safety hazards coming from enraged members of the community before they, or your customers, and clients can be physically harmed.

These are just a few of the ways that today’s increased level of anger, rage, and grievance should be considered by employers when creating a workplace violence prevention plan.

There are a lot of moving parts to establishing and implementing a workplace violence prevention plan. If you are feeling overwhelmed with what needs to get done. Whether it’s just having someone look over the plan you’ve created, or conducted safety hazard assessments, or providing training send me an email and we can chat.