Here is some good news for a change. The number of mass shootings in the workplace has declined. According to an article in the Baltimore Sun, employers have given higher priority to protect their employees against threats, harassment, and physical assaults. Of course, there are contrasting perspectives as, recently, a disgruntled and fired Budweiser employee shot and killed non employees before turning the gun on himself.
That being said, employers are conducting more background checks on their employees and installing security cameras on the premises. The fired employee who shot up Hartford Distributors, in Houston, Texas, was caught on video stealing cases of beer. This was at least one of the reasons he was discharged.
With a downturn in the economy and people in debt, stress is high in the workplace. People live in fear of losing their jobs. Things are not always so rosy in the home. People tend to drink more. In fact, drinking is on the rise. People take drugs. Anything to relieve the stress. None of it is good; a lot of it is stupid. Nevertheless, here we are with some employees feeling cornered. They act out. They become abusive. The turn violent.
Employers, or the good ones, anyway, are taking precautions. Employers not only have to deal with catastrophe on the job but most deal with the liability concerns, the public embarrassment–nobody likes to be on the news as the featured location of a shooting scene–and most importantly with the horror of knowing people were injured or killed in their place of employment.
Background checks will help weed out the potential violence prone job applicants to the ones with more common sense. It is by no means the only answer, as there always is a first time for everything. But at least you have a better chance of discovering who has a history of violence on their criminal records. You can weed out the sex offenders and the thieves.
Everybody may deserve a second chance. That being said, sometimes that second chance is just an opportunity to commit violent acts or thievery that are even worse than the time before. Check them out before you hire.
