scared to go to work

There is this really strange guy at work. a lot of us thought he was floor support until I had a question one day and asked him if he was FS since he was so close. He said "no, but I know a lot, what do you need to know." First real warning bell. Several days ago, he was talking about how much he wanted to quit, and and began pointing his finger as if it was a gun and going "bang" looking at nearby coworkers, and saying some were cool, the making the shooting motion at several others. He has been harrassing several other women, trying to tell them how to do their jobs, even if they are not in our department. I went to the site manager with it, assured that I could remain anonymous. I don't think anyone said anything, but he stared at me all day yesterday after thr floor manager went tothe floor and moved my bag from near him and sat me across the room. We are telling people that I was goofing off too much over there, and I was the one in trouble. I am still worried about this, because you never know what some mental case hase in their mind. thry talked to him, and of course he denied everything, but they are looking for a reason to fire him. I think they will protect us as well as they can, but I am still scared. It is very hard to function normally and still maintain a straight shot for the door just in case. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. I have not told my SO or anyone else, because I really want to keep my job. Could I please get some vibes?

*vibes* I'm sorry... I don't have any advice to give you, but I hope it gets better soon!

OMG, that sounds awful. How hard can it be to think up an excuse to fire this guy? They need to think about protecting the majority of their employees. Do you have good security there so he won't be able to get back in?

Honestly - given recent events, I would go to Police and just make a report - that way if he has any history, then can follow up and look into it.

Follow your instincts, and if you honestly think he's a danger, you need to talk to your supervisors again. Talk to other women and get them to talk to the supervisors as well.

Good luck

You need to be proactive and report this- NOW sweetie. With everything that's going on nowdays with violence/etc....it is not safe to take a "Wait and see" approach- something needs to be done now- this guy does not sound like he can be trusted/ safe. I would not risk my life to work in a place like that where there is someone sooo unstable/threatening if they do not take action. I'm not trying to alarm you- but in this day and age you just can not afford to not address the issue. If your bosses won't do anything- you need to get statements from other coworker/ witnesses of the threats he's made/etc and get an order of protection (they're better than most restraining orders) against this guy- however it doesn't take much of anything for someone to violate a piece of paper and do something aweful- please be careful. it might not be a bad idea to carry some mace on you. Also- you and your coworkers might need to have a game plan of how to leave/what to do in case something happens and you need to get out of the building quickly. (sorry- trying not to freak you out- but i honestly would be concerned).

As if going to work isn't usually bad enough, they have to throw some crazy person into the mix. Good luck! I would ask if I could get moved outside...

I would be scared too. With all the school shootings and things going on these days, why would anyone in thier right mind make gun hand signals at co-workers? You were right to report it. Just stay on your toes and be careful. If you have a cell phone make sure you keep it in your pocket in case you need to make an emergency call. I would try your best to stay away from him. Odds are he's probably not a phyco, but you never know.

May I ask -- what kind of company is it? What's your position there, and what's his?

The finger-gun gesturing is alarming. It may be that he just lacks the common sense to know you don't make jokes about such things these days... but I wouldn't want to bet my life on that.

I also wouldn't count on being anonymous, no matter how good the intentions of your supervisors may be. If they repeated to him even a single comment that he knows he made only to you, you're no longer anonymous.

I think you're right to be scared. And I think I agree with the suggestion that you contact the police -- but I would do that anonymously, too. They may tell you they're helpless because this guy hasn't done anything illegal yet, but you can ask them to at least speak to the management of the company about what should be done... just as a favor to you, so you can stay under the radar.

At the very least, the police should be able to run a background check on him.

Wait... if he's not floor support... do you know what department he is?? Are you sure he works there? I mean, I guess he does, given that the supervisors talked to him, but.. yeah, I'd say you are no longer anonymous if what they said to him was exactly what he said to you and you are the only person that heard any of it. It's a foregone conclusion if he only told you and that is what they're saying to him.. that had to be you that told him. Hopefully he's not completely whacko but.. if he is, telling you to be really careful isn't going to help, honestly. Even if supervisors fire him, that may give him *more* of a reason to come back looking to get even. Either way, whether he's there or whether he gets fired, he's a threat if he is really whacked out.

How much vacation do you have, and is it possible to get another job, with a different company or be transferred immediately to another location? Can you get written out on sick leave for awhile?? If you have sick leave benefits.. go to a psychiatrist, tell them what's going on and tell them you're on the verge of a breakdown due to the stress. You *can* get extended sick leave for mental stress, especially if it's caused by work and I think you're protected under FMLA for your particular, but that may depend on how big your company is, and whether you work full time... you might have to look into that, but ESL may be an option. I think FMLA is federal and I'm not sure if individual states would make a difference or not. If you have an employee handbook this information *should* be listed there.

If you need more help or have more questions about that, I don't know if off the top of my heart but I'm quite happy to look as much up as I can for you. Just let me know.

I would be freaked too if I were you...Be careful

Tons of "be safe" vibes headed your way.........

I reported it and they are watching him. I have been listening to some othr girls and they have told me, unprompted, how he has harrassed some of them, he mumbles to himself, and just generally acts weird. I don't think he is long for the job.
CarolPetunia, it is Directv call center for direct sales. He is at the same job level as I am, though he acts like a supervisor. He even goes to other departments and tries to tell people what to do.
The guy I reported it to has been keeping a good eye on me ever since I told him. I thinks he is seeing that the guy stays away from me. I feel safer since I know someone is watching out for me, but it still has not made me feel good with so many people I like are still right there beside him.

I don't have much advice, but in trying to remember the name of a book by a security professional on trusting your intuition I found this website, which may be helpful..

http://www.sideroad.com/Management/p...workplace.html

And this is the book I read. It was recommended to me by a police officer who taught a Rape Aggression Defence class, but has quite a bit on workplace violence:

http://www.amazon.com/Gift-Fear-Surv...ion/0316235024

Seriously, if you're that nervous about it, while you might conciously pishposh the idea that it's actually a danger, I'd totally see about extended sick leave or short term disability. Mental stress qualifies, especially when it's work-related. You know, better safe than sorry, and HR can't disclose why you're out on ESL or Disability. No one but the heads of HR that are specifically dealing with you will know. You don't have to worry about what people might think or ..if it's going to affect your job. If you feel that strongly about it, take time off. I fully believe in intuition.

That sounds stressful. I hope that things settle down at work and remain peaceful.

It had been my word against his until yesterday. Another girl sitting nearby confided in me tht she was afraid of this guy, because of his strange behavior and the "thing about shooting at people." She had been giving him rides to work because he walks and is right on her way, and now he is angry because she no longer picks him up. He thinks someone else did it, and I feel kind of bad about that. The other girl is going to talk to the floor manager today and hopefully we can get him off the site forever. We have security at the door, and they are pretty good about keeping people that are banned out of the building and there are always police nearby because of the school across the street. Wish us luck that it will be resolved today.

Well, hopefully that will fix it. It's a good thing that you have security at the door, although honestly, if they're not armed police officers and he does decide to go "ballistic" and go on a shooting spree... regular security officers aren't really going to stop him. If you think about it, security officers really only stop reasonable people..

I don't know. I'm not trying to scare you. Certainly it's one of the cases that you always think... eh, you know, it's not really going to happen to me, but if you feel that strongly about it and your intuition is often right... I wouldn't risk it. I used to have a friend (just one! j/k) who was almost *always* right about people and situations.. so I learned to listen to her intuition. Just remember that NO job is worth your life, and if you honestly and really feel that you're in danger, get the heck out of there. I tend to be one of those people that pish poshes my intuition about half the time. Not listening to it has gotten me into trouble a few times.

I hope that they instill security during the week or two that they decide to let him go. Hopefully they do it randomly so that he doesn't have time to plan.

I would have the police drive around the spot or be on location the day he is let go (if they can spare a cop). Then contract out 2 security guards to monitor the entrances of the building. I wouldn't be concerned about the day he gets fired too much as the week after he's fired...if there's no type of security, he could come back and shoot anyone in his path.

Originally Posted by krazy kat2

It had been my word against his until yesterday. Another girl sitting nearby confided in me tht she was afraid of this guy, because of his strange behavior and the "thing about shooting at people." She had been giving him rides to work because he walks and is right on her way, and now he is angry because she no longer picks him up. He thinks someone else did it, and I feel kind of bad about that. The other girl is going to talk to the floor manager today and hopefully we can get him off the site forever. We have security at the door, and they are pretty good about keeping people that are banned out of the building and there are always police nearby because of the school across the street. Wish us luck that it will be resolved today.

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Let us know what happens, cause now we're worried about you.....