ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how administrators can deal with violence, hostility, and mental illness within nonprofit, public, and medical organizations. Any organization is vulnerable to health and safety risks in the workplace. In some ways public organizations tend to be more vulnerable to workplace violence than private industry counterparts due to the issue of civil service. Many large, private-industry firms and public organizations have the resources and mandates to operate a robust security infrastructure. An employee with a handgun could inadvertently interfere with security forces during an emergency situation by getting in their way, by accidentally shooting security personnel, or by being mistaken for an assailant. A hostile work environment is one in which an individual feels threatened, either mentally or physically, by one or more individuals within the department. Hostile work environments can be caused by intimidation, verbal or physical threats, or sexual harassment.
