One of the things I tell people all time about good HR pros is that they understand the value of listening, or at least appearing to listen.

When it comes to the employee relations side of HR work, one of the most important things is allowing people to vent.  I call it steam release.  Allow people to release their steam, and you're decreasing the chances that almost all bad stuff from a legal/workforce management perspective will happen - lawsuits, EEOC claims, unionization and yes, workplace violence.

You probably can't change a lot of what you hear.  But people will feel better that they've had a chance to say it - you stabilize your organization for every 10 minutes you spend in steam release.

We probably don't train our managers on this enough - they're as important in steam release as HR is...

As work goes, so goes life - and failing to spend the time can also turn positive people negative.  Think about someone who just bought a new house.  You stop by the new place to drop something off and they want to give you a house tour.  You're brutally honest and say you don't want the tour.  The owner is immediately put off.  Failing to listen and take the time for someone to tell you about something - both on the negative AND positive side - is a way to make enemies and encourage all kinds of bad stuff to happen.

Need an example?  Check out the following house tour clip from Curb Your Enthusiasm by clicking on this link where Susie is feeling good, offers Larry the house tour, he declines, and she's immediately provoked.  WARNING: Video is very NSFW, so be careful with volume.

But the message is clear - Great HR pros and great managers know the value of sucking it up and spending a little bit of time allowing someone to vent (or celebrate).

Be too damn busy at your own peril, my friends.