Adverse Reactions and Insider Threats

• In Event: Poster Session: Innovations in Public Administration Research & Experimental Research
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Innovations in Public Administration Research

Abstract

For decades, insider threats have been the domain of the IT and Cybersecurity world. However, increasingly, the risk posed by malicious insiders to both private and public sectors of life is becoming more and more prescient with the perceived increase in workplace violence and fears about coworker radicalization. Workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives can inadvertently change insider threat risks in organizations by fueling intergroup tension. That is, DEI policies and practices can produce adverse reactions (e.g., unfairness, dissatisfaction, anger) by majority group members that can mold into personal grievances, placing organizations and their minority employees at increased risk of harm. Negative employee reactions may range from work withdrawal or verbal harassment to more severe threats like targeted violence or sabotage, and indicators become noticeable long before threat events occur., Moreover, the varied threats and risks point to a need for multi-actor threat protocols including management, HR, IT, and local law enforcement, and other leaders involved in decision making. Building the organizational infrastructure and external connections necessary for preventing and countering insider threat events, however, is not simple. We draw from organization science, criminology, and political violence to offer recommendations for managing DEI initiatives and corresponding insider threats.

Author

• Katherine Parsons, NCITE