Workplace violence has garnered a great deal of attention over the years, in part due to a series of high profile cases across the country. Violence in our society has also meant violence in our places of work. In recent years actual violence is decreasing while fear of violence is increasing.

This website has been created to assist those within the MIT community who are concerned about fear of violence, threats of violence or actual acts of violence in the workplace. MIT has a policy in place prohibiting threats, threatening behavior, and violent acts in the workplace as well as a team of resource people (who work individually as well as part of a team - the Behavioral Situational Assessment Team or BSAT for short) in assisting members of the community with problems related to violence.

We hope this web site is useful in outlining key concerns and issues on this topic and in assisting members of the community in finding resources for assistance. In depth information is available through training classes available on this topic (see "Resources").

Follow these suggestions in your daily interactions with people to de-escalate potentially violent situations. If at any time a person's behavior starts to escalate beyond your comfort zone, disengage.

• Project calmness: move and speak slowly, quietly and confidently.
• Be an empathetic listener: encourage the person to talk and listen patiently.
• Focus your attention on the other person to let them know you are interested in what they have to say.
• Maintain a relaxed yet attentive posture and position yourself at a right angle rather than directly in front of the person.
• Acknowledge the person's feelings. Indicate that you can see he or she is upset.
• Ask for small, specific favors such as asking the person to move to a quieter area.
• Establish ground rules if unreasonable behavior persists. Calmly describe the consequences of any violent behavior.

• Use styles of communication which generate hostility such as apathy, brush off, coldness, condescension, robotism, going strictly by the rules or giving the run-around.
• Reject all of a client's demands from the start.
• Pose in challenging stances such as standing directly opposite someone, hands on hips or crossing your arms. Avoid any physical contact, finger-painting or long periods of fixed eye contact.
• Make sudden movements which can be seen as threatening. Notice the tone, volume and rate of your speech.
• Challenge, threaten, or dare the individual.
• Never belittle the person or make him/her feel foolish.