????你內心深處是否產生過一種恐懼感？比如在小學時，或者在新學年開始之前？或者，這種恐懼感會出現在每周一早上，你準備上班之前？

????對于有些人來說，這種恐懼感每天都存在。缺乏身體上的或者情感上的，或兩方面的安全感，會阻礙創造力。但這種情況在許多公司內卻普遍存在。

????關于當今職場人身暴力的統計數字可能會令你大吃一驚。據美國職業安全與健康管理局（U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration，OSHA）報告：“兇殺是造成工作場所中女性死亡的主要原因。”OSHA稱，許多工作場所暴力案件并未被報道，但“每年約有200萬美國工作者報告，自己遭受到工作場所暴力。”許多大公司紛紛采取安檢措施，以防止武器進入工作場所，但許多公司非常容易受到大范圍攻擊或有針對性的攻擊。

????關于去年十二月發生在紐敦市的慘案，灣區非暴力溝通（Bay Area Nonviolent Communication）聯合創始人米基?卡斯坦曾發表過專文，充分闡述了預防暴力的重要性。她說，如果我們能表現出對其他人的同情，幫助其他人感受到自身的重要性，就可以帶來巨大的變化。

????當然，使用有形的暴力只是如今公司內敵對問題的一部分。《圍攻》（Mobbing）一書的聯合作者莫琳?達夫認為，無形的虐待也非常普遍。這種侵犯通常針對與眾不同的人，可能造成嚴重的生理和心理創傷；但達夫認為，這種侵犯的后果往往卻遭到公司的忽視。

????公司就是一個社區。筆者每年會接觸來自數百家公司的人。有的工作場所非常友好；而有的則充滿敵意。（順便說一下，公司電話錄音里關于企業使命的陳詞濫調與內部員工友好相處之間沒有任何直接關系。）有的同事非常友善，有的卻不太友好。

????Ever get a feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach? The kind you might remember from grade school, maybe when you started a new academic year. Or perhaps it comes on Monday mornings as you dress for work.

????For some, that feeling is daily routine. That lack of feeling safe -- either physically, emotionally, or both -- takes its toll on creativity. And it is pervasive in too many corporate workplaces.

????The statistics on physical violence in today's workplaces may surprise you. "Homicide is the leading cause of death for women in the workplace," the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports. OSHA says that many cases of workplace violence go unreported, but that "nearly 2 million American workers report having been victims of workplace violence each year." While some large companies have screening to keep weapons out of the workplace, many businesses are completely vulnerable to mass or pointed attacks.

????Miki Kashtan, co-founder of Bay Area Nonviolent Communication, writing about December's Newtown tragedy, eloquently described the importance of violence prevention. Our capacity to exhibit compassion and help others feel like they matter can make a huge difference, she says.

????The use of physical force is, of course, just one part of the hostility problem at corporations today. Non-physical cruelty is prevalent, argues Maureen Duffy, co-author of the book Mobbing. This type of aggression, which is commonly targeted at those who are different, can lead to significant physical and psychological trauma; consequences that corporations too often ignore, Duffy says.

????Companies are communities. I speak with people at hundreds of firms every year. Some workplaces are friendly; others are not. (Platitudes about corporate mission on a company's telephone hold muzak don't correlate directly with courtesy, by the way.) And some people are friendly, and others aren't.