We are seeing more and more employee rampages on the innocent. Have you ever wondered about your co-worker in the cubicle next to you? Well if you haven’t you should because it is important to be a student of human behavior. You do not have to have a degree in psychology to know when something is a little off with a person’s behavior. I understand we stick to the motto “I just mine my own business and leave everyone else’s alone.” However, that might be a mistake that puts you in a position of harm. People please be vigilant not obsessive but aware of everyone around you. It is your job to keep yourself safe. If an individual returns to your workplace after a dispute with management that winds up in dismissal and decide that today is your day, your awareness can be the one thing that gets you home to your family that evening.
When I worked in corporate America and I usually worked in a capacity where I knew people who were going to be terminated for whatever reason be it no fault of their own or for cause. My instincts were always set to 1000% because my desk was always located outside of the Executive’s office who had the final say of who was making the list of cuts. So regardless of how generous the company felt it was being to the terminated person, I always felt like the sitting duck sitting in a cubicle in the open. Quite naturally, I always expected to find myself on the list of names for budgetary reasons but I always ended up as part of the cleanup team for the big layoffs. Let me tell you that is the scariest thing to know that people you have lunch with on a regular basis are about to have their financial world turned upside down and you can’t say anything and you worry that you will become a target because even though you never let on that you are privy to the information that soon to be former co-worker harbors hard feelings towards you because they felt you should have let them know.
In recent positions my colleagues would laugh when I would use the phrase, “beware of the gunman.” They took if for a joke but I was very serious because someone who can get so angry with their workload, feedback from management, and position in general was someone that I would refer to as being a possible gunman. I also try to be friendly with this person because the day that he or she snaps is the day I want a warning so that I can get out safely. Employees go over the edge for various reasons and here are few that can trigger a psychotic break on the job:
- Heavy workload
- Manager (unskilled or lack of knowledge of the job)
- Consistently being denied for promotion
- Family life trouble that spill over into work life
- Lack of praise for tasks well done
- Long work hours because there are too few people to get it done
- Harsh criticism (everyone is not built to withstand critic)
- Layoff (sudden without warning)
Now all of the possible reasons listed above can be remedied but the problem with that is that a large percentage of people who fall into these categories do not like change. They would rather sit there and continue to be miserable instead of taking a chance on themselves and moving onto something that is more palatable for their career. Who can blame them with this volatile economy? You should always do what is best for your financial, mental, and physical well-being especially if you are feeling that one day you too could go over the edge because you feel like there is no way out of the madness. Be careful just because you work for a fortune 100, 500 or any other elitist organization does not mean that you should not beware of the gunman who could be sitting in the cubicle right next to you.