Recognizing Troubled Employees and Troubling Situations

You can enhance your productivity, job satisfaction, and sense of work/life balance by ensuring that your work environment is safe and promotes your physical and emotional well-being. HR offers the following services to assist you in creating a balanced, safe and flexible workplace experience.

Note: A departmental presentation is available on violence prevention and campus safety resources (PDF).

Assessing Threats and Co-worker / Colleague Impairment

If you aren't in immediate danger but have uneasy feelings of fear or discomfort about a workplace situation, including violent statements or indirect threats, report this to your manager and ask about scheduling a threat assessment meeting with the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) manager. In the event of direct threats or actual violence, call 911 immediately.

If a coworker is acting strangely, disoriented, uncoordinated, or distraught in a way that is out of the ordinary and this behavior presents a safety hazard, inform your supervisor or manager immediately. The EAP may assist your manager regarding your co-worker’s ability to work safely (fitness for duty) and getting help.

Fitness for Duty Evaluation (PDF)

Certification of Fitness for Duty (PDF)

Behavior Concerns  Advice Line (BCAL)

The Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL: 512-232-5050) is a phone service for The University of Texas at Austin’s faculty, students, and staff to discuss their concerns about another individual’s behavior. This service is a partnership among the Office of the Dean of Students, the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC), the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and The University of Texas Police Department (UTPD). Trained BCAL staff members will assist the caller in exploring available options and strategies. They will also provide guidance and information about other resources to address the particular situation. If callers choose to remain anonymous, they may do so.

Cases that present an immediate threat to self, others, or property should be considered an emergency and should be directed to the University of Texas Police Department (UTPD) by calling 911.

Critical Incident Stress Management

Has a death, crisis or trauma recently impacted you at work? Counselors from the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can meet with you after an incident that affects your entire group.