Case Study 3

Small Business Threatened by Former Employee

The partners of a firm never dreamed that a former member of their small family-like business would ever turn against them.

One afternoon an anonymous caller made a death threat against one of the managers. The recipient of the call recognized the caller's voice as a former long-term employee who had recently been laid off by the firm because of a down turn in business.

The police were phoned immediately and began their investigation by contacting the suspected former employee. The man indicated his despair over the loss of his job and quickly confessed to making the threatening phone call.

Fortunately, intervention occurred before the perpetrator had a chance to carry out his threat. However, the remaining employees, already in a state of low morale due to the layoffs, were terribly shaken by the incident. Use of sick leave increased and productivity was negatively affected for several weeks following the threat.