Keller @ Large: Humanity Needs To Make A Comeback In The Workplace

BOSTON (CBS) - "Racial harassment, discrimination, sexual harassment, people just being mean to each other."

Those are the cold hard realities of many modern-day workplaces, according to Framingham-based psychologist and consultant Dr. Gerald Lewis, who says the modern day workplace may have perks they never dreamed of back in the day, but it also has a whole new level of stress and dysfunction.

"Since the financial crash the workplace hasn't gotten easier, it's gotten more difficult because [of] layoffs, downsizings, greater demand, cuts in benefits," he says. "People are angry, and we see it in our politics too."

The good news? That anger rarely results in violence. The bad news?

"There needs to be more of a building the social culture," says Lewis.

Greater Boston's worst-ever case of workplace violence, the 2000 Wakefield massacre that took seven lives, was committed by Michael McDermott, who co-workers said almost never interacted with them. And that's a key warning sign of trouble.

"It's no different than a family," says Lewis. "If you see your kid sitting in his room all night, go in there and ask how you doing, what's going on? It is OK for a supervisor to say look, I understand you're going through a tough time in a divorce with your wife, let's get a cup of coffee. That kind of personal touch, even if the person says 'to heck with you, I don't want to talk about it,' he or she remembers that you reached out."

Could that have prevented the nightmare in Virginia? Perhaps not.

But Lewis says the only real hedge against inhumane workplace behavior is for humanity to make a comeback there.

"We really need to be looking for people who have the capacity to relate to other human beings, it's as simple as that."