The Toledo Blade Online
The Toledo Blade OnlineThe Toledo Blade Green Edition
Click here to subscribe or renew!
Temp: 15°
Humidity: 80%
Wednesday, 02/10/10
Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here
Home »   Business »   Local Companies » 
Click here to return to the main category.

Click to Receive RSS Feeds!EmailPrint IndexHelp FacebookTwitterDiggDel.icio.usFark

Article published February 25, 2005
Job shootings aren't so rare, local firms told
Expert: Jeep case like others
TRAITS OF WORKPLACE ATTACKERS
• 98 percent are male.

• Most are 25 to 40 years old, but the fastest growth is in the
19- to 23-year-old age group.

• They are easily frustrated,
chronic complainers, don’t
offer solutions, are extremely
manipulative and intelligent.

• They are socially withdrawn, the “consummate outsider” who didn’t fit in at school and was bullied.

• They have less-than-average communication skills,
make poor eye contact with
women, and have an easier
time understanding things put
in writing.

• They have marital and/or
family difficulties.

• They have a fascination with guns, but fewer than 10 percent served in the military.

• Fewer than 8 percent have a criminal record.

• They will boast about their
plans for violence and make
threats known in advance.

• Two-thirds of them kill themselves after committing an
extreme act of violence.

The Jan. 26 multiple shooting at the DaimlerChrysler Jeep factory in North Toledo was not all that rare, a national expert on workplace violent crime told about 200 area business leaders yesterday.

Paul Michael Viollis, Sr., president of Risk Control Strategies, of New York, said general aspects are consistent with about 3,000 cases he has studied for 20 years. He declined to discuss specifics.

Mr. Viollis said a steady increase in workplace violence has "clearly hit epidemic proportions here in the United States."

There are now an average of 17 workplace homicides a week. Many go unnoticed by the national media unless multiple victims are involved. Many involve women who have been victims of domestic abuse, he said.

His talk, sponsored by Sky Insurance and held in the Medical College of Ohio's Dana Center, was split into two similar half-day forums because of the level of interest Sky received in advance, John Wingerter, event coordinator, said.

Mr. Wingerter, a Sky training coordinator, said the forum was geared toward educating human resource directors on behavioral cues in the aftermath of the Jeep shootings. Former Jeep employee Myles Meyers killed himself with a gun after fatally shooting a supervisor, Roy "Tom" Thacker, as well as wounding team leader Paul Medlen and Michael Toney, another supervisor.

Mr. Viollis said none of the homicides he has studied has been random.

"Workplace violence is always avoidable," he said.

Perpetrators not only exhibit signs of erratic behavior, but usually even boast about their plans to peers. Those who are tipped off usually don't take the threats seriously.

Eighty-six percent of the victims are management. Although 98 percent of the workplace perpetrators are male, 35 percent of the violence in schools is done by females. Nearly all perpetrators have felt bullied or demoralized.

Mr. Viollis said there is a direct correlation between school and workplace violence.

"Not only are we not addressing this issue [in the workplace], we're seeding it [in the schools]," he said. "Treating school violence is your problem, whether you've got kids in school or not."

The toll of violence extends to a company's profit margin: A homicide typically causes a 15 percent reduction in company stock for several weeks as well as lost work days and productivity. The need for enhanced security consumes more resources. The average jury award to victims or their surviving family members is $3.1 million per person, per incident. Legal expenses for major cases can exceed $400,000, Mr. Viollis said.

State legislators, he said, are reluctant to challenge the Second Amendment. In Ohio, employees can still legally take loaded weapons to work unless their employers display placards forbidding them. Oklahoma has a law that forbids companies from disciplining anyone who takes a weapon onto work premises. Mr. Viollis described the latter as "the most ludicrous, most irresponsible piece of legislation I've ever seen."

Contact Tom Henry at:
thenry@theblade.com
or 419-724-6079.


Permanent Link

Automotive
Updated: 1:50 pm
Toyota recalls 437,000 Priuses, hybrids globally
VIDEO >>
Automotive
Updated: 12:24 pm
State Farm says it warned NHTSA on Toyota in 2007 >>
Local Companies
Updated: 7:25 am
Andersons profit for '09 rises despite revenue drop >>
Local Companies
Updated: 7:52 am
Johns Manville to recall 105 to local plants >>
Automotive
Updated: 7:51 am
Auto supplier to lay off 90 in North Baltimore >>
Energy
Updated: 7:50 am
3 area plants receive federal energy funds >>
More business stories



Top AP Business Articles

ADVERTISING SECTIONS
More columnist stories

REAL ESTATE MARKETPLACE
Real Estate Classifieds, Transfers, Mortgage Rates


MORTGAGE CENTER
Mortgage Rates, Points, APR's

MOST READ STORIES
1.  Northwest Ohio's Crystal Bowersox impresses Simon, survives another 'Idol' round
MOST E-MAILED STORIES
1.  Toledo strip club puts cover charge into quake relief
2.  Tennis champ accused of phone harassment
3.  Officer says 33 dogs seized from suspected puppy mill
4.  Knights' Cromwell steps down
5.  Mental health agency looks to pare $3.5M from services
6.  Homelessness board votes for outside audit; advocate Ken Leslie safe for now
7.  'Stagecoach Mary' broke barriers of race, gender
8.  Sylvania lawyer charged in thefts from 2 clients
9.  Mental health board hears appeals from officials
10.  MAC basketball struggles with fall from elite


AP  News Headlines



AP  Business Headlines



AP  Sports Headlines


AP  Features Headlines
Copyright 2010 The Blade. By using this service, you accept the terms of our privacy statement and our visitor agreement. Please read them.
The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660, (419) 724-6000
To contact a specific
department or an individual person, click here.
The Toledo Times ®