Going Postal
August 20, 2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the shooting at the Edmond Post Office in Edmond, Oklahoma. The perpetrator shot 20 of his co-workers, killing 14 of them and himself. This mass shooting is where the phrase “going postal” came from.
As a society we have taken this phrase and warped it into an internet meme.
We like internet memes as much as the next guy, and anyone who has been around this blog for a while knows that we don’t take ourselves too seriously. But we do take workplace violence very seriously here at Invictus Consulting.
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We’ve written a white paper on workplace violence, so head over to our Resources page to check that out if you want a more detailed understanding of workplace violence. From our perspective, there are three important steps to take in addressing the issue of workplace violence:
- Recognize the warning signs (e.g., aggressive outbursts, diminished work performance, erratic behavior, hypersensitivity to work performance, verbal threats, etc.)
- Educate your employees about workplace violence, your workplace violence policy, and how to report workplace violence
- Create and Emergency Action Playbook that has a contingency for workplace violence
“Going postal” has become a cultural joke about annoying co-workers, bosses, or even societal inconveniences like slow drivers. Workplace violence is no joke, so educate yourself and your employees about what to do to mitigate the possibility of it in your place of work.
