Dying on the Job: Murder and Mayhem in the American Workplace

by Ronald D. Brown

Overview

Dying on the Job is the first book on workplace violence to focus exclusively on workplace murder. While some perpetrators are certainly mentally impaired, many workplace murders are committed by people considered to be “normal.” Brown explores the various motives and drives that spark workplace murder, and answers hundreds of questions that are usually asked only after a workplace murder rampage has already occurred. Are men or women more likely to commit workplace homicide? How can people more easily spot those likely to commit workplace murder? What are some of the warning signs? How often is "suicide" used as workplace revenge? The answers to these questions and more are based on more than 350 actual cases of workplace murder, and the answers are often surprising. Brown also addresses different areas of prevention, counseling, and rehabilitation, and analyzes different approaches to gun control for both management and employees to make their job a safer place to work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442218437
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/13/2012
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Ronald D. Brown served four years as an assistant U.S. attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. After his tenure as a federal prosecutor, he spent the next decade in private law practice in Newark, during which he settled a $1 million medical malpractice suit, successfully argued a precedent-setting corporate case before the state’s highest court, and tried more than one hundred criminal jury trials, including a dozen homicides. He studied labor law and alternative dispute resolution at New York University Law School and also studied labor and employment law at Columbia Law School, from which he earned an LLM in 2004. He has taught criminal law and lectured extensively on issues of criminal law and labor and employment law. He has served as a labor law advisor to the U.S. army and as a labor and employee specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Murder in the Workplace: Nature, Scope, and Origins
2. Why So Little is Known About the Problem
3. Definitely Not Your Average Girl Next Door
4. The Limits of the Human Resources Function
5. Some Were Crazy, Some Not So Crazy
6. The Influence of Gender & Race
7. The Problems and Politics of Being the “Boss”
8. Debunking the Myths / Confirming the Facts
9. Deciphering the “Language” of Workplace Suicide
10. The Warning Signs: the Tick, Tick, Tick of the Bomb
11. Ironies Trends, and Troublesome Facts
12. Employer Response, Responsibility and Resolve
13. Guidelines for Workplace Safety, Security, and Control
14. Conclusion

Endnotes
Appendix
Selected Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
About the Author

What People are Saying About This

Richard A. Pollock

A unique exploration of the growing epidemic of murder at work. Ronald Brown has crafted a highly readable and fascinating look at this unfathomable and shocking phenomenon. Written with historical perspective, statistics, factual accounts of numerous events and detailed analysis the reader gains not only insight into the genesis of the problem, but a better understanding of the underlying fears that often drive these assailants. While debunking the myths about workplace homicide and exposing the futility of some preventative policies and procedures, in the end Brown provides important preventative rules and recommendations that can make a difference. Timely and useful, this book is a must read for CE's and their staff, HR executives, middle managers, safety and security professionals and anyone concerned about this abhorrent problem sweeping the nation.

Samuel Estreicher

Dying on the Job highlights an important problem all concerned with the state of American workers must confront.

William B. Gould IV

Dying on the Job addresses the most critical work place problem in the US. Written in a style which is both accessible and graphic, it touches on all the relevant aspects of this worrisome matter. This is the best examination of violence, murder and mayhem at work that I have seen. Policy makers and all who are concerned about the workplace will do well to read this exhaustive discussion and to heed its recommendations. I recommend it highly.

Cynthia Estlund

With this fascinating book on workplace murder, Ronald Brown has filled a gaping hole in the literature on workplace violence, and he has done so with lively and accessible prose and a prosecutor’s eye for detail. His ‘closing argument’ on the role of guns in the epidemic of workplace murders should provoke serious and much-needed debate on American gun culture and permissive gun laws.

Carol Bohmer

This book is an important discussion of a frighteningly prevalent phenomenon, that of workplace homicide. It is a book all employers should read, as it provides information which can help them take steps to reduce the likelihood that an employee will be the victim of workplace homicide.

Roger S. Clark

This is an excellent book; the first serious book-length study on work-place homicide. It contains valuable empirical information and useful suggestions for prevention.

Lance Liebman

Sadly, too many workplace killings take place. Ronald Brown's book, the first ever about this subject, shows the terrible number, the variety of circumstances and causes, and ways society could address this problem. Managers, HR professionals, and anyone who works in an office need this information.

Editorial Reviews

Former assistant U.S. Attorney Brown repeatedly informs readers, twice in the introduction alone, that his is the first full-length book ever to cover workplace murder, in terms of killings involving employees and employers. This bent toward repetition, along with other flaws, ensures that his study falls short of its high-flown aims. Although Brown repeatedly states that his survey encompassed more than 350 separate incidents, the high-profile case of neurobiologist Amy Bishop takes up an inordinate amount of space. Unfounded assertions abound, such as that the actual number of workplace murders exceeds government statistics. The citations of sources such as wikiHow, for a list of safety recommendations, also do no favors to the actual evidence compiled. Discussions of the role played by race and gender tread dangerously close to stereotypes, while the concluding chapter's rambling discussion of "how the gun culture antithetical to human industry and the work ethic" diverts valuable space from the workplace violence issue. Though no one can doubt the topic's importance, employees and employers alike may prefer to wait for others to cover it more satisfactorily. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

With this fascinating book on workplace murder, Ronald Brown has filled a gaping hole in the literature on workplace violence, and he has done so with lively and accessible prose and a prosecutor’s eye for detail. His ‘closing argument’ on the role of guns in the epidemic of workplace murders should provoke serious and much-needed debate on American gun culture and permissive gun laws.

Cynthia Estlund

A unique exploration of the growing epidemic of murder at work. Ronald Brown has crafted a highly readable and fascinating look at this unfathomable and shocking phenomenon. Written with historical perspective, statistics, factual accounts of numerous events and detailed analysis the reader gains not only insight into the genesis of the problem, but a better understanding of the underlying fears that often drive these assailants. While debunking the myths about workplace homicide and exposing the futility of some preventative policies and procedures, in the end Brown provides important preventative rules and recommendations that can make a difference. Timely and useful, this book is a must read for CE's and their staff, HR executives, middle managers, safety and security professionals and anyone concerned about this abhorrent problem sweeping the nation.

Richard A. Pollock

Dying on the Job highlights an important problem all concerned with the state of American workers must confront.

Samuel Estreicher

Dying on the Job addresses the most critical work place problem in the US. Written in a style which is both accessible and graphic, it touches on all the relevant aspects of this worrisome matter. This is the best examination of violence, murder and mayhem at work that I have seen. Policy makers and all who are concerned about the workplace will do well to read this exhaustive discussion and to heed its recommendations. I recommend it highly.

William B. Gould IV

Sadly, too many workplace killings take place. Ronald Brown's book, the first ever about this subject, shows the terrible number, the variety of circumstances and causes, and ways society could address this problem. Managers, HR professionals, and anyone who works in an office need this information.

Lance Liebman

This is an excellent book; the first serious book-length study on work-place homicide. It contains valuable empirical information and useful suggestions for prevention.

Roger S. Clark

This book is an important discussion of a frighteningly prevalent phenomenon, that of workplace homicide. It is a book all employers should read, as it provides information which can help them take steps to reduce the likelihood that an employee will be the victim of workplace homicide.

Carol Bohmer

Brown, a lawyer, has amassed a comprehensive body of research examining workplace homicides, claiming that his book is the "only study that focuses on murder exclusively between employees, over issues that were job-related." He traces a brief period from when workplace murders were virtually nonexistent to the present seemingly plague-like proportions. This scholarly work not only is rich in historical foundation but also utilizes a social-psychological overview to better understand and analyze the significance of the relationship between past events and more contemporary behaviors. The more than 350 case studies included in Brown's analysis provide insights on the motives and warning signs of workplace homicides. This volume has the uncommon but coveted feature of drawing the interest of diverse groups. It is almost addictive in its power to fascinate the reader, whether a scholar or concerned citizen. Brown's delivery of the material has a strong academic structure, yet the material and ideas are easy to follow. Concluding chapters provide advice on workplace safety and security, making this volume highly relevant, given current concerns about violence in the workplace and society. A valuable resource for any social sciences based college-level course, and nearly required reading in management related classes as well. Summing Up: Highly recommended.

Choice Reviews

Brown, a lawyer, has amassed a comprehensive body of research examining workplace homicides, claiming that his book is the "only study that focuses on murder exclusively between employees, over issues that were job-related." He traces a brief period from when workplace murders were virtually nonexistent to the present seemingly plague-like proportions. This scholarly work not only is rich in historical foundation but also utilizes a social-psychological overview to better understand and analyze the significance of the relationship between past events and more contemporary behaviors. The more than 350 case studies included in Brown's analysis provide insights on the motives and warning signs of workplace homicides. This volume has the uncommon but coveted feature of drawing the interest of diverse groups. It is almost addictive in its power to fascinate the reader, whether a scholar or concerned citizen. Brown's delivery of the material has a strong academic structure, yet the material and ideas are easy to follow. Concluding chapters provide advice on workplace safety and security, making this volume highly relevant, given current concerns about violence in the workplace and society. A valuable resource for any social sciences based college-level course, and nearly required reading in management related classes as well. Summing Up: Highly recommended.

Choice

Brown, a lawyer, has amassed a comprehensive body of research examining workplace homicides, claiming that his book is the "only study that focuses on murder exclusively between employees, over issues that were job-related." He traces a brief period from when workplace murders were virtually nonexistent to the present seemingly plague-like proportions. This scholarly work not only is rich in historical foundation but also utilizes a social-psychological overview to better understand and analyze the significance of the relationship between past events and more contemporary behaviors. The more than 350 case studies included in Brown's analysis provide insights on the motives and warning signs of workplace homicides. This volume has the uncommon but coveted feature of drawing the interest of diverse groups. It is almost addictive in its power to fascinate the reader, whether a scholar or concerned citizen. Brown's delivery of the material has a strong academic structure, yet the material and ideas are easy to follow. Concluding chapters provide advice on workplace safety and security, making this volume highly relevant, given current concerns about violence in the workplace and society. A valuable resource for any social sciences based college-level course, and nearly required reading in management related classes as well. Summing Up: Highly recommended.

CHOICE