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Title pretty much says it. The workplace I manage has an employee who is off of his rocker. He thinks the entire place is a conspiracy against him. Everyone is talking about him behind his back. The world is against him. he threatens people with violence and then plays the victim, doesn't listen to reason, he is the second coming of christ and everyone else is poo poo. That's barely scratching the surface. I don't even know where to start with this guy, but for obvious reasons I don't want to get into too much detail either. Do to the aggressive poo poo he's been pulling, which has massively amplified in the last week, I don't think he's going to have a job in a few days, and if I were a betting man, I'd say there is a 90% chance he's not going to go home and self reflect afterwards. I'd say best case scenario he's going to come back and gently caress everyones cars up or start a fight. But I'm honestly worried. Dude gives me really bad vibes like he could snap at any moment. Short of telling HR about this on the DL when I have to deal with it next week, I don't really know what the gently caress to do. Dude hasn't actually done anything an I can't report a hunch. This feels bad though. What do you guys think?
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Jan 19, 2018 03:11
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| # ? May 19, 2024 00:30 |
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The singular second an employee threatens violence, you immediately go to HR and use the phrase "so-and-so has threatened violence. He said X, it was Y PM, in the Z Room. Jane Doe and John Smith were there and can corroborate (optional: make mention of security cameras if there's one in the Z room)." If HR doesn't specify that they will contact the police immediately, do so yourself and give them the same information. Don't wait. Tell them that he did it, and let them take action to keep him out of the building. You say he hasn't actually done anything - HR can't do much if he clocks in, logs into his machine, and starts stabbing.
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Jan 19, 2018 03:39
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I should clear up what I meant by threatening violence. So far it's been that he is convinced another employee is antagonizing him (which as far as I can tell is total unmitigated bs) and keeps saying things like "I don't want this to end in a fight, but I'm gonna have to if he doesn't stop *insert vague percieved threat here*". Which is definitely concerning as hell, but I wasn't sure if it warranted action beyond the planned HR stuff. Don't get me wrong everyone there is "out to get him" but he's really got a bug up his rear end about one specific guy. he definitely hasn't threatened to kill/stab/shoot anyone or anything like that. The threats are just the tip of the iceberg though. I wish I could go into more detail but I feel like I shouldn't. This is basically a personality profile of him. http://robertsiciliano.com/blog/2014/04/08/workplace-violence-12-signs-of-a-dangerous-person/ I made the mistake of reading a few of these articles after work tonight and it describes him to a T, to the point it gave me goosebumps. veni veni veni fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Jan 19, 2018 |
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Jan 19, 2018 03:57
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Why can't you go into detail? Is he a goon? Do you think one of us will use magic to find him and rat you out?
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Jan 19, 2018 07:09
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504 posted:Why can't you go into detail? Is he a goon? Do you think one of us will use magic to find him and rat you out? um i'd say that's a very reasonable fear, yes
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Jan 19, 2018 09:03
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veni veni veni posted:I should clear up what I meant by threatening violence. So far it's been that he is convinced another employee is antagonizing him (which as far as I can tell is total unmitigated bs) and keeps saying things like "I don't want this to end in a fight, but I'm gonna have to if he doesn't stop *insert vague percieved threat here*". Which is definitely concerning as hell, but I wasn't sure if it warranted action beyond the planned HR stuff. Don't get me wrong everyone there is "out to get him" but he's really got a bug up his rear end about one specific guy. he definitely hasn't threatened to kill/stab/shoot anyone or anything like that. Just call the cops (or have HR do it) and tell them that someone who seems to be paranoid and delusional make vague threats against a specific coworker. Hopefully he'll just get a ride to the psych ER and get medicated.
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Jan 19, 2018 13:05
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Personally, I would just print out an anonymous document with all of his strange behaviors and drop it on the HR manager or VPs desk. If they are any good, they will take it seriously enough to at least question the guy and then you won't have to be identified as an accuser. If this dude is that clearly gone, you might be a target accusing someone that volatile.
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Jan 19, 2018 14:44
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MJP posted:Jane Doe and John Smith were there and can corroborate
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Jan 19, 2018 15:30
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You’re the manager? Have you spoken privately to the employee he’s targeted as his “antagonizer” or to other employees who have concerns about his behavior? I can understand not wanting to be alone in a room with the aggressive/abusive employee, but as the manager you have a responsibility for the safety and comfort of the rest of staff. When you say “he hasn’t done anything” yet he’s making violent, aggressive remarks toward coworkers he’s absolutely done enough to upset people; keep in mind this is just what you’re hearing. What could he be saying to other coworkers who are too scared (of him or of workplace repercussions) to report it? I get being concerned for going into detail both for safety and legal reasons, but additional context may help suss out what your next moves are if you’re seeking advice. If you can depersonalize the information enough or alter non-relevant details please share more? You could always edit out the posts later or ask the thread be locked/removed.
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Jan 19, 2018 16:30
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Yeah. I have talked to them both separately in my office. I tried to be really blunt (but not mean because he wigs me out) with unhinged dude about how inappropriate he's being and it went in one ear and out the other. Everyone thought a fist fight was about to go down in my office but it was just him talking. He never stops talking and he talks so loud and angrily it sounds like 2 people arguing. Trying to get a word in edgewise or get him to step back and look at how ridiculous he's being is impossible. I talked to the other guy, who has basically just said "This guy just thinks I'm staring at him and I'm not and it's getting bad enough that you guys need to do something" which as far as anyone has witnessed seems true. I told him that we were going to treat it seriously asap. Tbh it really escalated in the past 2 days. I wasn't worried about it until this week. It seemed like a minor, petty workplace beef that would be squashed quickly. I really didn't process how out there the dude in question was until I talked to him in my office for a while.
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Jan 19, 2018 20:06
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Incompetent and a violent psychopath? I see management material here. Make sure to congratulate him when he gets promoted.
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Jan 20, 2018 07:24
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This guy is frightening your employees and causing problems in the workplace so just fire him??? I don't not do things like buy groceries because I'm afraid of the .01% chance I'll get run over by a car
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Jan 20, 2018 14:02
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I had a guy make a bomb threat and mention that he keeps a Ruger in the center console of his car once. OP, if you're the manager, you need to sound that alarm as high up the chain as that fucker will ring. No joke. If you're not the manager, you need to tell as many of the applicable ones as possible so that it's not all on one person. If the guy is legit unhinged, you have an obligation not only to yourself but the people you work with to get this taken care of. EDIT: re-read your OP and I see that you are a/the manager of this particular area. again, you should be notifying as many applicable of your superiors as possible. if you're concerned that there's an active threat, hopefully your company has policies and procedures that handle it. superiors in my experience can sometimes be a little distant when it comes to the actual problems in a day-to-day standpoint (again, all depending on your field and size of company) so it's definitely worth trying to get a face-to-face with one of them if you think this is a real problem. you're in a rough spot honestly and I don't envy your position. but like I said, if you genuinely believe there's an active threat, you need to be making things happen and at least leaving a paper trail of the things this guy has been doing so that he can't justify it with "well I was never officially disciplined" later like most poo poo asses do also, a reminder that the employees that are in your workplace dealing with this guy are now resting a lot of expectations on your shoulders if they're as uncomfortable as you make it seem in your post. don't be another one of the do-nothing managers that listens to a complaint and then flounders on it for a week. not that I have any reason to think you would be, but being visibly proactive to your employees goes a long way, as I'm sure you already know barnold fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Jan 20, 2018 |
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Jan 20, 2018 18:02
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Yeah, it will be escalated as much as possible come Monday. My boss has been out of town and I am going to make it clear that this is a bigger deal than frankly, both of us thought it was. Like, it's been very sudden that my opinion has shifted from "this guy is a big pain in the rear end" to "this guy is potentially a threat" I don't think there is an immediate threat of anything violent happening. My concern is that he set this meeting up with HR and seems to be under the impression that he will finally be vindicated and the 20+ staff he thinks is conspiring against he will be fired, and that they will stick it to the guy that he really has it out for. In reality they are going to see that he's nuts immediately, because he can't hide it at all. When poo poo ends up likely not going the way he wants , that's when I'm concerned. And to people asking why he wasn't already fired, there is a couple of reasons. For one I don't normally deal with that poo poo. My boss does and she's out of town. Secondly, the gravity of it didn't really hit me at all until his was in my office being really aggressive at the very end of the week. I'm not going to just tell someone they are fired in a heated moment, especially when I am really concerned with it putting my other staff and myself in immediate danger.
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Jan 20, 2018 18:35
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veni veni veni posted:Yeah, it will be escalated as much as possible come Monday. My boss has been out of town and I am going to make it clear that this is a bigger deal than frankly, both of us thought it was. Like, it's been very sudden that my opinion has shifted from "this guy is a big pain in the rear end" to "this guy is potentially a threat" I don't think there is an immediate threat of anything violent happening. My concern is that he set this meeting up with HR and seems to be under the impression that he will finally be vindicated and the 20+ staff he thinks is conspiring against he will be fired, and that they will stick it to the guy that he really has it out for. In reality they are going to see that he's nuts immediately, because he can't hide it at all. When poo poo ends up likely not going the way he wants , that's when I'm concerned. Absolutely let us know how the meeting goes.
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Jan 20, 2018 21:09
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Have someone not directly connected to the situation fire the employee. Hire a security consultant if your team is afraid of violence. Fire them at the end of the day so there's less employees there if poo poo goes down. Do not give the fired employee any reasons to come back (ie, make sure they have all their stuff when they go, mail their last check to them, etc).
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Jan 22, 2018 21:26
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He can't do any of that.
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Jan 23, 2018 02:17
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An HR guy that works at a different location will be doing it. Normally my boss would be the one letting someone go, but we all agreed it would be best if it was someone he doesn't know. I talked to a few people about my concerns today and everyone seemed to agree that he probably won't just let it go, but they think that it will probably manifest in some sort of harassment not violence. I noted my concerns in my report. I'm probably being alarmist and I hope I'm wrong, but I'll probably be on edge for a few days. Even I think the worst case scenario is unlikely, but the fact that I'm not totally sure wigs me out. Also, I should note that pretty much every higher up became aware of this by Friday. So the burden is pretty much off of me to do anything else at this point. Although I will probably have to sit in for this poo poo. That doesn't change my concerns, which really no one can predict. veni veni veni fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Jan 23, 2018 |
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Jan 23, 2018 02:28
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It sounds like it's out of your hands. Good luck with the lawsuit and/or shooting.
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Jan 24, 2018 01:39
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tell him he should use email instead
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Jan 24, 2018 02:33
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Also you should think long and hard and consider getting some non-work opinions on what the guy could do, so you either validate or invalidate your assumptions. Like it's so easy for people to turn a blind eye and follow the herd and then something bad happens and it's "oh my god, we thought it could happen, but never expected it to" and boom someone(s) are hosed up for the sake of a dumb job. What I'm saying is if you think this guy is going to come back and do personal damage or pursue people out of work, you should consider recommending some remote work arrangement for a week, maybe po' can do some drivebys, or who knows like someone said contract a security guy for a week.
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Jan 26, 2018 21:20
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Crazyweasel posted:Also you should think long and hard and consider getting some non-work opinions on what the guy could do, so you either validate or invalidate your assumptions. How did your meeting go?
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Jan 27, 2018 07:15
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If you are too scared to fire him, then you should probably not work wherever you work. And 'going postal' hasn't happened at a post office in so long...I get what you mean, but, really. Sometimes there are people who get mixed up and can no longer do their jobs. It's not a conspiracy. At these times, someone has to talk to the employee. If the situation cannot be resolved, then the employee has to be let go. If you are fearful for your life, tell your superiors and also tell them you're gonna contact law enforcement as well.
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Jan 28, 2018 02:37
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Vato posted:If you are too scared to fire him, then you should probably not work wherever you work. And 'going postal' hasn't happened at a post office in so long...I get what you mean, but, really. Sometimes there are people who get mixed up and can no longer do their jobs. It's not a conspiracy. At these times, someone has to talk to the employee. If the situation cannot be resolved, then the employee has to be let go. Thanks for the valuable input. Perhaps next time you could read the thread and actually post someone not already discussed, or know enough about the situation to not offer advice on things the OP has already explained he cant do, or has already done.
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Jan 28, 2018 04:24
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Update. I don't even know what the hell is going on. We basically Miltoned his rear end and put him in a position where he works remotely and has minimal interaction with other staff, and he seems pretty happy with that. It was supposed to be a temporary thing, but the people from corporate seem happy with that too, so now I don't even know if they are going to fire him  I think they are scared of him too. This whole thing is loving stupid.
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Jan 29, 2018 06:33
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veni veni veni posted:Update. I don't even know what the hell is going on. We basically Miltoned his rear end and put him in a position where he works remotely and has minimal interaction with other staff, and he seems pretty happy with that. It was supposed to be a temporary thing, but the people from corporate seem happy with that too, so now I don't even know if they are going to fire him Head office, making the painfully bivouac differcult and converluted every single day. Ps, for the love of god don't take his stapler.
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Jan 31, 2018 05:14
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ITT sheltered OP who's never had to deal with a mixture of a) emotionally unstable person and b) someone who is on the receiving end of workplace harassment/bullying before and a thread full of people fanning his fears that he's gonna go postal. Also, OP has admitted that everyone is literally "out to get him", but cannot believe that one person in particular might be antagonising him. Hint: if everyone is out to get him and one particular person is going further than everyone else, no one is going to rat that individual out. They're probably cheering him on. OP, have you actually done anything to seriously investigate his allegations that people in the workplace have it in for him? I'd probably get pretty pissed of if I felt singled out and victimised in the workplace and my boss was dismissive when I complain about. No wonder he's fine on his own, he's not being picked on. Corporate are probably happy because they realise this too, not because they're scared of him, but because they realise his co-workers are part of them problem too.
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Jan 31, 2018 06:08
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Kim Jong ill posted:ITT sheltered OP who's never had to deal with a mixture of a) emotionally unstable person and b) someone who is on the receiving end of workplace harassment/bullying before and a thread full of people fanning his fears that he's gonna go postal. Thanks for that. Having the perspective of a crazy person is also useful right now.
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Jan 31, 2018 06:37
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Kim Jong ill posted:ITT sheltered OP who's never had to deal with a mixture of a) emotionally unstable person and b) someone who is on the receiving end of workplace harassment/bullying before and a thread full of people fanning his fears that he's gonna go postal. Sorry, this thread is a dumbass free zone.
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Jan 31, 2018 10:54
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g0lbez posted:This guy is frightening your employees and causing problems in the workplace so just fire him??? I don't not do things like buy groceries because I'm afraid of the .01% chance I'll get run over by a car Op is probably american
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Jan 31, 2018 11:09
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Do you have any way to protect yourself? If he gets fired he is gonna come after you to gently caress you up. He'll blame you for the firing. Maybe stay in a motel under an alias for awhile.
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Feb 7, 2018 07:49
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Hi, just checking in to confirm that he has (unsurprisingly) done absolutely nothing of significance. I'll be back again in a week or two to check in on your paranoia.
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Feb 9, 2018 06:17
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| # ? May 19, 2024 00:30 |
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You are a loving idiot with incredibly poor reading comprehension. Yup. I'm not dead yet. You sure showed me! Edit: You are right in that this thread has run it course for now though. HR didn't even end up doing poo poo and honestly he has calmed down. If anything noteworthy happens I'll reopen it. veni veni veni fucked around with this message at 19:05 on Feb 9, 2018 |
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Feb 9, 2018 06:31
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