Act Quickly When One Employee Threatens Another

It doesn’t have to be difficult times for employees to be stressed out and on edge with each other. Personality conflicts have always been present and can disrupt the work environment very quickly. In addition, there can be other variables such as when an employee goes off his or her medication or experiences severe emotional mood swings thereby causing other employees to be fearful of them. Other issues such as personal traumatic events (death of a family member, separation, divorce, medical conditions, financial problems etc.) can also cause inappropriate workplace behavior to surface.

Managers and supervisors have to remember they are not doctors and should not try to second guess what is going on. Any overt threat from one employee directed at another employee must be taken seriously! Most employers have a written policy in effect regarding threats, intimidation, harassment, and violence. Follow your policy to the letter and take the appropriate action. If any “blows” are thrown the police should be notified immediately. They will come out and take whatever action they deem appropriate.

In some situations, employees may be taking prescription drugs to control their emotional and mental state and inform the employer about their medical condition. This information must be kept confidential. Do not ask the employee about the medical diagnosis because it gets into the privacy area. You can ask who should be contacted in the event an issue arises (do not ask for the relationship). If they need to be taken off of work by their doctor simply follow your leave of absence policies. In my opinion, you can also recommend a leave of absence until they are able to return to their duties and can require a doctors note certifying that they can return to their normal duties.

In the event that two employees simply cannot get along because it appears to be “bad blood” between the two, a decision may have to be made regarding BOTH employees. First, try to help them work through their differences. Second, if it does not work out, then move in a direction of severing the employment relationship. Just remember, the favorite doesn’t get to stay, and the “trouble-maker” gets to go. It’s sad but true. Lawsuits have sprung up because the fired employee comes back against the employer for either wrongful termination or a discrimination claim because the individual is in some protected class group.

As always, if you have any questions please feel free to give us a call.