Assaultive Violence in the U.S. Post Office

Abstract

This article suggests that a plausible theoretical link exists between the management of change and recent killings in the U.S. Postal Service. The degradation of labor associated with the scientific management of technological change produces stress and frustration that weaken employee integration and undermine existing forms of social control. Certain employees reject prevailing definitions of situations provided by those in power and develop alternative meanings and patterns of behavior, including assaultive violence. The article concludes that when the experience of work fundamentally degrades a person's identity or sense of self-control, especially in the uncertain context of rapid change, it can trigger assaultive violence.