Suspect and Circumstances Surrounding the Recent Washington DC Navy Yard Shooting

Navy Yard Shooting

Suspect and circumstances surrounding the recent Washington, DC Navy yard shooting

Characteristics of workplace violence and categories of workplace violence

The "red flags" that existed with the Navy Yard shooter

What could have been done to prevent the tragedy

How employers can reduce workplace violence

The research is aimed to provide a detailed account of the characteristics and categories of workplace violence. The workers are intimated through various psychological and physical pressures to adopt a violent behavior with the workplace. However it is the responsibility of the management to ensure that the workers are provided with adequate organizational culture and facilities in reducing the mutual friction. The outsiders influence is also a major cause of workplace violence in most of the cases. The Washington, DC Navy yard shooting is also an incident that could be prevented through effective measures at organizational level.

Characteristics of workplace violence and categories of workplace violence:

The violence at workplace is initiated through various personal and work related issues. The perpetrators of work place violence has a common characteristic that they are involved in harboring grudges and as a result target their co-workers, managers, and employees. The work place violence is embedded in the perceived injustice and psychological and physical abuse. These abuses lead to stress and result into exhibiting violence in work place settings.

There are four major categories of work place violence. These categories are explained as following.

Type I:Criminal Intent. This type of workplace violence identifies that the person committing this crime has no relationship with the business and it is conducted as shoplifting, trespassing, and robbery.

Type II: Employer-Directed. The perpetrators are either a customer or client and the workers performing their duties come under attack. It can be a result of metal and physical health issue of the person.

Type III: Worker-on-Worker. The violence is initiated due to psychological or physical stress in the work place. The co-workers have a work related issue that results into a violent behavior crating workplace violence.

Type IV: Domestic violence. The domestic violence has no direct relationship with workplace violence however it is observed that domestic relatives appear at workplace and exhibit violence against the victim.

The" red flags" that existed with the Navy Yard shooter:

There are almost four to five red flags that were missed by the military where Alexis worked as a contractor. The red flag that was missed as the police reported a bizarre run with him in the hotel. He reported that there were some people who are following him and he heard voice of the people through hotel walls. Another red flag missed out by the authorities included his statements that he felt that people were sending vibrations through his body using microwaves. These vibrations were causing him to be awake (Doocy, 2013). The major red flag missed by the administration was regarding his visit to the psychiatrist twice in the last month. The doctor gave him a relaxant and advised follow up with the primary care physician.

What could have been done to prevent the tragedy:

The tragedy of Washington, DC Navy yard shooting could have been prevented through adopting appropriate procedures to perform background checks of the individual. The shooter's history and details of the psychiatrist visits along with the type of treatment he is advised should have been considered by authorities. The individuals passing through work or social life related stress should be dealt with care. The police report to military about the bizarre run with the shooter in hotel should have been taken seriously to keep him under strict observation for his mental health. The feelings of employees including concern for others safety, mental health issues, and relationships are work and home should be considered as relevant factors for analyzing the state of employees in which they can create a threat for workplace safety.

How employers can reduce workplace violence:

According to Van Fleet, and Van Fleet (2010)the working conditions in the organization has a great deal of influence on creating conditions intimidating workers to adopt workplace violence. The nature of business and industry segment is also relevant for consideration. However the role of work life balance and organizational culture is influential in creating a healthy workplace. The management concerns for ensuring health and safety as well as the placement of organizational assets has an increased role in reducing workplace violence.

The business can also take various procedural approaches to ensure that the workers psychological, mental, and physical health is not affected by any operational or functional failure. The appropriate background checks and repeat of these procedures on timely basis can also help in reducing the workplace violence (Harris, & Keller, 2005). The security of the workplace can also help in reducing the category one and four workplace violence. The intruders'should not be allowed to have a free access to workplace.