Gabriel Arana on why when an employee blows his top, the company is often the one to blame:
Workplaces in which employees have little say in the decision-making processes, where rules are applied inconsistently, and where there is lack of sincerity and respect among colleagues tend to foster revenge-seeking behavior. But most important, many of these offices have no system in place to address employee grievances. This leads to a situation where, Stephen Gilliland explains, people explode like kernels of popcorn in hot oil. “And it’s not just the bad kernels that pop; it’s everybody,” he says. “Once the situation becomes bad enough — and there’s nowhere to turn for release — normal people are driven to do abnormal things.”