What does protection against violence mean in the real world, for a real, live
HR person? This case study of Jewell Ayella may hit home.
By Lynne McClure
Jewell
Ayella* works for a large manufacturing firm in Phoenix, Arizona. Like many HR
professionals, she didn't think about how to protect herself from potentially
violent employees until she found herself in the middle of an extremely
threatening situation. Perhaps her experience and the lessons she learned will
help other HR professionals take preventive measures before a situation gets out
of hand. Here is how the situation unfolded:
Ayella had been working in HR for seven years when employees in a department
that was unfamiliar to her started complaining about a co-worker named Don
Thompson. She asked them to tell their manager, Paul Lorenzo, about the
situation and said she would talk to Thompson as well.
In meeting with Lorenzo, Ayella explained: "The employees tell me that
some days Don is okay, but most of the time, he looks wild-eyed and acts angry.
His moods seem to go up and down and his co-workers are afraid of him."
Shaking his head, Lorenzo responded: "Look, I didn't want him here in
the first place, but his former manager and your predecessor put a lot of
pressure on me to keep him. He should have been fired a long time ago. No one
feels safe around him."
"Why wasn't he fired?" Ayella asked. "No documentation about
the behavioral problems?"
"You got it," Lorenzo said. "And now you're going to ask me to
start documenting, right? Well, forget it. He does his work and he meets his
deadlines. The problem is that no one, including me, wants to be around him. I'm
not documenting any of that—it wouldn't do any good anyway. Because behavioral
problems aren't included in the corporate policy, there's nothing to back me
up."
Frustrated, Ayella asked the threatening employee to come see her.
"Your co-workers are having a problem with you," she told him.
"It seems that your moods are, well, they vary widely."
"That's THEIR problem," Thompson yelled, hitting the top of her
desk. "You think I'm supposed to entertain my co-workers? Look, I have my
rights. Check my personnel file—you won't see a single complaint. In fact,
this new job came with a raise. I must be doing something right! The problem is
YOU folks in HR, always trying to get in good with management."
After her meeting with Thompson, Ayella starting getting voicemail messages
at home, threatening: "Don't mess with me."
When she started talking with Thompson's previous managers about his
behavior, the voicemail messages continued: "Keep digging, and you'll be
digging your grave." Scared, Ayella erased them all. Furthermore, one night
in the middle of this situation Ayella thought she heard someone moving around
outside her house.
The next morning, Bridget DeMaio, Ayella's manager, showed up in her office.
Noticing how upset Ayella was, DeMaio asked her to sit down and explain what was
happening. Through this conversation, it became clear to Ayella that she should
start looking out for herself. Giving DeMaio all her notes on the case, Ayella
made an appointment with the company EAP for some personal counseling, she
arranged for some vacation time, and she signed up for a self- development
workshop.
While Ayella was gone, Thompson hit a co-worker. DeMaio required him to take
a number of fitness-for-work tests, including a drug test indicating he used
cocaine. Although the company's policy didn’t address behavioral problems, it
did specify that failing a drug test would be grounds for termination. Thompson
was gone before Ayella returned.
Ayella came back to work with a new perspective. "I've spent a lot of
time thinking about the situation with Don and here's what I've learned,"
she told DeMaio. "First, when employees complain about a co-worker I should
go directly to the manager. Instead of alerting Paul to the problem with Don, I
let his employees catch him by surprise. By the time I did talk with Paul, he
refused to cooperate with me.
"Second, Paul's refusal to document was a symptom of a deeper HR
problem. There's nothing in our policies that states disruptive or inappropriate
behavior is a performance issue. No wonder managers won't
document—they don't have any backing.
"Third," Ayella went on, "I was pretty naive about Don. I
assumed he'd be reasonable, even though Paul and his co-workers said otherwise.
I need to pay more attention to what's really happening, instead of how I think
it should be.
"And the fourth lesson is embarrassing," Ayella said. "I
ignored the obvious clues that I was in danger. I kept showing up at work as if
nothing was wrong without admitting how scared I felt or how much at risk I was.
Then, when direct threats were made on my voicemail, I erased the
evidence!"
DeMaio smiled supportively. "How would you handle a situation like this
next time?" she asked.
"Well," Ayella said, "First, I need to build a support team
than includes my peers in HR, people in security, the managers I'm working with
and others. If we share information on a regular basis, I won't feel as if I
have to solve all behavioral problems by myself. Also, I need to document
everything problem-employees say and do. I have to save threatening messages and
ask the police to investigate them. And I need to call the police whenever I
hear someone lurking about my property."
DeMaio nodded her head. "Sounds good," she said. "Anything
else?"
"Yes," Ayella said, "First, the team I put together has to get
top management to support early identification of high-risk employees so problem
behaviors can be dealt with early before these employees do anything violent.
Working with top management, we must establish a policy that allows us to
address behavioral problems while they’re still manageable.
"Second," Ayella said, "I have to make it easier for everyone
to see the distinction between me and as an agent of the company in the HR role
by showing more concern about what employees tell me. For example, I could have
been more interested in hearing Don's perception of the situation with his
co-workers. I could have shown understanding about the problems he was
experiencing, and explained how the EAP could be used as a resource. Assuming
behavioral guidelines are in place, I could also have made it clear that even
though Don has to follow the same guidelines as everyone else, it was a
business—not a personal—issue."
DeMaio smiled. "Sounds like you're got a good handle on this issue.
Let’s move forward and implement what you’ve learned," she said.
* All names have been changed to maintain confidentiality.
*The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful
information on the topic covered, but shouldn’t be construed as legal advice
or a legal opinion.
Lynne McClure is a management consultant and an expert on workplace violence
with McClure Associates Management
Consultants Inc. in Mesa, Arizona.
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