Is Workplace Violence Still a Concern for Organizations?

No one is disputing that violence, in general, seems to be escalating throughout our nation. For example, I live in the Laguna Hills Area of Orange County in CA, and my wife was shocked to read the local paper outlining two different town areas where people were recently shot. Yet most businesses today still maintain that a workplace violence (WV) event would never happen in their shop – everyone knows one another. 

As with most security programs, proving ROI takes a lot of work. Hence, rebutting arguments against such a program when comparing it to costs for training, overseeing, investigations, etc., versus the actual cost to the business if such an act occurred is equally challenging. I started my business in this area in 1988 - I’m still here. This upcoming session will speak to the following concepts to let you decide if WV could still be a viable topic.

• Semantics – workplace misconduct versus workplace violence

• Today’s workplace deals with perceived individuals rights, not what is right to do

• The forms of potential violence most likely to occur

• Indirect & insider threats, harassment, gaslighting, depression & suicides, and DV

• The actual statistics – are not so daunting when broken down

• Divide the number of real WV incidents by the total number of US workers

• Engaging the entire organization to be part of the solution

• You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution

• Long-term resolutions, not short-term resolves

• Future orientation is more psychologically sound than immediate gratification

• Understanding the current level of laws, court cases, and regulatory decisions

• • How they influence workplace actions and culture         

Presenter’s Bio:
Dr. Michael H. Corcoran was in law enforcement for over 34 years, beginning in 1968, and in the threat assessment field since 1970, when he entered the United States Secret Service. Completing his doctorate in behavioral science in 1979 and utilizing his law enforcement experience, he specializes in identifying and handling potentially violent subjects, as well as those exhibiting concerning behaviors, in mitigating conduct that disrupts business continuity and may result in harm or loss in revenue. Additionally, he designs workplace programs to identify, handle, and avoid workplace misconduct or violence and its precursors (bullying, harassment, incivility, rudeness, stalking, threats, domestic violence, suicidal ideation, active shooter, etc.) ...before it’s a risk. Dr. Corcoran also uses his former Secret Service skills to assess the practicality, need, and design of an Executive Protection program for organizations and trains EP teams on numerous protection techniques.

Starting The Workthreat Group, LLC, in 1988, he works with governmental agencies, cities and counties, law enforcement, Fortune 500 companies, school districts, and healthcare providers throughout the United States and Canada. He has spoken and trained internationally on all these topics and co-authored the text: “Violence Assessment & Intervention, The Practitioners Guide.” Dr. Corcoran was a founding member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals in 1990 and was a founding member of Henley-Putnam University, serving as its President from 2001-2011.