Do Something--He's About to Snap

Authors: Roche, Eileen; Fox, James Allen; Kaufer, Steve; Pearson, Christine; Porath, Christine; Schouten, Ronald
Source: Harvard Business School Publishing
Year: 2003
Company Name: MMI
Number of pages: 8

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Abstract:

Lynne Tabor, an IT manager at manufacturing giant MMI, has a great team. Everyone works hard and gets along, except Max Dyer, a talented programmer who is terrible in the interpersonal skills department. Three years ago Tabor reworked his job after employees complained that he was unengaged and even belligerent. Since then, he's been a solid worker, putting in extra hours and meriting good performance evaluations. But recently, Dyer's coworkers have noticed a change for the worse in him. Everyone at MMI is on edge after a round of layoffs. Reports of a workplace shooting in Seattle are all over the news. One coworker finds Max pinning up a certificate from a shooting range in his cubicle, and another worries that they will all end up as statistics of office violence. They want to know how Tabor plans to ensure their safety. Dyer thinks his coworkers are out to get him. They believe he fits the profile of a man on the edge. But what can Tabor do about an employee who has never made so much as a veiled threat to anyone?