Five Indicators of Escalating Workplace Violence

Workplace violence is rarely spontaneous. In the majority of cases our team has reviewed, there is an identifiable behavioral pathway that precedes the incident — a set of signals visible to coworkers, supervisors, and HR long before anything physical occurs.

The first indicator is a marked change in communication style: increasing hostility, veiled threats, or a shift toward grievance-focused language directed at specific individuals rather than general workplace frustration.

The second is a preoccupation with perceived injustice — an employee who becomes fixated on being wronged by the organization, often disproportionate to the actual dispute, and who begins to frame the situation in adversarial terms.

The third is social withdrawal paired with an increase in isolated grievance behavior — filing repeated complaints, contacting leadership directly and repeatedly, or expressing that "no one is listening."

The fourth is references, direct or indirect, to weapons, past violent events, or admiration for perpetrators of workplace violence.

The fifth, and often the most missed, is a sudden behavioral shift in the opposite direction — a previously agitated individual who becomes unusually calm or resolved. This can indicate the person has made a decision.

None of these indicators alone is proof of intent to harm. Together, and assessed by a trained threat assessment process, they form the basis for early intervention — which is the entire premise behind the "Prevent" pillar of the READY™ framework.