Politicians look at gun control in the aftermath of a municipal worker's fatal shooting of 12 co-workers in Virginia Beach; It may be appropriate also to examine the state of the American workplace, which is mean and irrational place for many workers.
Share to linkedinThe immediate reaction to the mass shooting of 12 municipal workers in Virginia Beach has been to focus on gun control.
We may never know why the 40-year-old Virginia Beach shooter took two semiautomatic handguns to the municipal building and killed 12 of his co-workers, including two supervisors. He died in a gun battle with police. But we know one thing. The shooting occurred at his workplace, and it is unlikely that this is a random coincidence.
Workplace violence often appears to be a random act that has no logical cause but, upon closer inspection, underlying factors exist that may help to explain it. In some cases, the perpetrator showed signs of psychological distress that were ignored or unaddressed by the employer. Workplace conditions can inadvertently foment conflict. Low staffing levels, for example, are known to cause extreme stress to overworked workers.
Many U.S. workers labor for long hours for low pay. Wages adjusted for inflation have barely budged in a decade. And when the blush of youth fades, they can be essentially locked out of the workplace, and forced to choose between under-employment or unemployment for the rest of their lives. Unlike the United States, many developed countries regulate psychological violence in the workplace. There is overwhelming research that workplace bullying can result in severe mental and physical harm to targets.
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