Verbal Abuse in the Workplace a Necessary Conversation

Vic Faust profane and extensive name-calling rant against co-worker Crystal Cooper became public, went viral and led to his termination.

Verbal abuse is not uncommon in the workplace yet some instances of it are worse than others. Only rarely however are perpetrators held accountable. It’s an evergreen problem worthy of debate.

In Vic Faust’s case, he was held accountable by being fired.

The Fox 2 radio anchor was terminated after his tirade against radio partner Crystal Cooper. The behavior was surreal and maybe for some, triggering (warning):

In short, Faust was hurt, offended and angry over feeling criticized and in his mind, attacked and embarrassed on air about having difficulty with his computer.

On a commercial break, he unleashed contempt and fury on his colleague, Cooper, swearing 40 times and expressing a slew of insults, too many to mention.

As his aggression continued, Faust threatened Cooper, “If you come back (to work), I’m going to be in your (expletive) every (expletive) day,” Faust said, who added that he would “call you a (expletive) every day.”

This becoming public resulted in job loss.

“Vic Faust no longer works for Fox 2, KPLR (Channel 11) or Nexstar Media,” station general manager Kurt Krueger said.

The conflict had been growing. Was the escalation of anger unrecognized as serious and dangerous by station leadership and not addressed before the implosion point?

“It may not be that the deteriorating relationship was not recognized earlier, but rather that co-workers didn't step up to bring it to the attention of station leadership,” counters Trish Nitschke, who is the CEO for the Center for Business Communication Excellence.

She has media background herself, having worked in a television newsroom in different capacities, from video editor to a producer, reporter, anchor, and Assistant News Director. This has given her an educated perspective on this particular story.

“Leadership in radio and television stations aren't ‘in the trenches’ the way producers, editors, and on-air talent are so they may not have seen it first-hand,” Nitschke says from experience

The bystander effect, where people refrain from intervention when other people are present, regularly occurs when observing workplace conflict and aggression. Then, there is self interest.

“There's a high likelihood that others in the station were aware of the tension but didn't want to get in the middle of it and become potential targets themselves,” Nitschke says.

Faust knew of his frustration and growing anger towards Cooper. The fuse was already lit. Anger was likely leaking out towards Cooper and maybe to co-workers at times yet the explosive anger had not yet happened. Faust was triggered again. Efforts to gain help had, he likely felt, had failed him.

Trish Nitschke

“It's hard to say what led to the incredible intensity of Vic Faust's meltdown,” Nitschke says. “Any number of things could have played a role in the pent-up frustration.”

That is a peripheral issue though, she says.

“The reality is, he handled it in the worst way possible. He could have asked for a mediation with Crystal Cooper and a member of management or a trained mediator to try to resolve the conflict,” Nitschke say.

“Instead, he did it in the worst place he could. Even though it was during a commercial break, anyone in the broadcast industry will tell you that you always treat every microphone as a live microphone; you never, ever say anything near a microphone you wouldn't want to be on air.”

Crystal Cooper

Faust was solely responsible for his communication behavior yet other failures and arguably, negligence, contributed in an unintended way to the attack. Yet Nitschke reiterates that employees owned some responsibility to inform leadership.

“There could have been a conflict management opportunity, or a chance for some executive coaching for this team, if someone said something early enough in the conflict,” says Nitschke.

That’s remedy was not just for Faust, she asserts.

“That goes for Faust, Cooper, and those who worked with them,” she states. “Unresolved tension usually builds until it explodes, like it did for Faust. The key is addressing it early enough to work through it before it gets to that stage.”

The station has ridded itself of Faust’s temper and behavior yet problems remain: addressing the mistreatment of Cooper, other employees having to experience observing what happened, maybe trauma they suffered, negative publicity for the station, media scrutiny and at least some possibility of legal action from Cooper.

“There needs to be some internal communication work done at the station for sure,” Nitschke says. “Firing Faust isn't enough. Leadership needs to implement conflict management training. It's beneficial no matter what industry you are in, and the techniques can be applied to a person's personal and work life.

“Is a lawsuit possible? I'm not sure. I think a lot will come down to who knew what when,” she says. “If leadership did indeed know about the tension between Faust and Cooper and did nothing, that could be an issue.”

There are lessons to be learned, Nitschke says.

“There are two key takeaways from this story. First and foremost, if you see tension among coworkers, you need to bring it to leadership right away. Leaving a tense relationship to ‘solve itself’ isn’t going to happen, and will likely lead to something much uglier in the end.

“Second, training staff in conflict management is crucial. Giving employees the tools to see the red flags and steps to take when they do helps diffuse situations before they get out of hand.”