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In the Face of Tragedy
A shooting at a Kentucky plastics plant left five co-workers dead and thrust the issue of workplace violence back into the headlines. What are the best ways for companies to prevent violence and how can a company cope in the aftermath of such an incident?
On June 25, an employee shot and killed five workers at a plastics plant in Henderson, Kentucky, before turning the gun on himself. Wesley N. Higdon, a 25-year-old who worked as a press operator at Atlantis Plastics, allegedly got into an argument with his supervisor, Kevin Taylor, 30, about wearing goggles and using his cell phone while on the assembly line, according to news reports. Higdon, who was known to keep a .45 caliber pistol in his car, was escorted out of the building, where he shot Taylor hours later. He then charged inside, killing four others in a break room and on the factory floor. At least one other person was wounded during the attack. In Henderson, an Ohio River town of just 28,000 people, the attack proved devastating to residents, since so many are connected to the plant, either working there or knowing someone who does. "Our whole community is in shock," Henderson County Judge-Executive Sandy Watkins told several news organizations. The shooting occurred around midnight, when roughly 35 to 40 workers were inside. The plant employs more than 150 and makes refrigerator parts and plastic siding for houses. Atlantis Plastics is based in Atlanta and employs 1,300 worldwide. The company reopened its Henderson plant for minimal production on the following night. The tragic incident has once again thrust workplace violence back into the headlines. There are 2 million victims of workplace violence every year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were 461 workplace homicides in 2006; however that number includes people who were killed by customers¿like convenience store clerks being killed during robberies. The number of people who are killed at work by a co-worker falls between 30 and 50 per year, according to Robert Siciliano, CEO of Boston-based workplaceviolencesecurity.com. Companies looking to take steps against workplace violence should emphasize security as a front-line issue for all employees, says Siciliano. "Have employees look at this issue so that it's not a matter of if it's going to happen, but when," says Siciliano. "If you look at it in that way, you are always thinking proactively and you are always in position to put systems in place to predict and prevent the onslaught of violence." Although he did not know the specific policies at Atlantis Plastics, Siciliano says that, overall, too many companies don't have a system in place to adequately prevent workplace violence. "Not enough is done in order for that to be properly implemented and facilitated," he says. "People sit on their hands. They have their heads in the sand." He also says companies need to teach employees how to recognize the predictors of violent behavior prior to an employee hurting someone or committing murder. Siciliano suggests that companies implement crisis-intervention training so employees can report suspicious behavior to their supervisors. "Employers should have ongoing training for those employees to recognize that 'Charlie just hasn't been the same,' " he says, adding that "nobody just snaps." Larry J. Chavez, an instructor and consultant who has worked with the U.S. Department of State and NASA, agrees that someone who commits murder at their workplace usually has a premeditated plan. "They know exactly who they're going to kill and who they're not going to kill," says Chavez. "They are going after certain people that they perceive have done them wrong." In the aftermath of a workplace homicide, company leaders should do all they can to help ease the pain for their employees, starting with offering counseling, says Siciliano. "Their responsibility is to walk you through the grieving process, the post-traumatic stress that goes with a mass murder, and get you back on your feet so you can be a functioning human being" says Siciliano. Another way to help is to provide an employee-assistance program or give time off. "If they need a month, you give them a month. If it means laying them off temporarily, then do it," he says. "Whatever it takes." Even though Higdon may have retrieved the gun from his car outside the plant, the company was not able to prevent him from doing so, since Kentucky state law forces businesses to allow guns on their privately held property, according to Brian Siebel, a senior attorney at Washington-based Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Similar laws are held in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alaska, Minnesota and Kansas, he says. "Companies have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace, a workplace free of recognized hazards," says Siebel. "Guns in workplace are a recognized hazard." In responding to a shooting at the workplace, Chavez says that companies should treat it just like natural disaster and go with a contingency plan to get the work done. He cautioned against making quick decisions. "Shooting from the hip," he says, "is going to cause more problems than they are going to seek to solve." July 9, 2008 Copyright 2008© LRP Publications |
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