By Barbara Bowes

It seems only a microsecond of time since Manitoban’s were basking in the glory of a stable economy in a global market. Our businesses were experiencing the excitement and thrill of soaring export sales and exotic business travel. But today we weep and react in fear as seemingly invisible global tentacles of terror successfully reach out to savage our innocence.

The surreal horror of the World Trade Centre incident has also awakened us to the fact that many local businesses were not prepared for and did not expect such deep emotional responses from their employees. Other businesses I spoke to were simply not clear on what their responsibility should be in a situation like this.

Although a tragedy such as witnessed last week is an extraordinarily rare event, in my opinion, it only makes sense that every business has a means to deal with workplace trauma no matter how extreme. After all, no one can afford to compound glaring operational challenges with the ongoing performance inertia experienced by employees struggling to cope with emotional trauma. So, what can be done to prepare for the emotional response resulting from a future catastrophe or from a less severe yet unexpected workplace crisis or in fact, how can one deal with the lingering post-traumatic stress arising from this latest trauma?

It’s interesting to note that while most employers routinely train for the logistics of fire or health and safety crises and have solid crisis response plans in place, very few companies apply this to situations of emotional trauma. At the very least, key individuals should be provided basic training in trauma psychology as well as front line, emotional first aid intervention skills. Specific crisis response policies and procedures also need to be established so that a company can quickly and consistently react to the emotional needs of employees while at the same time protecting the need for organizational productivity.

Marilyn MacKenzie, a well-known, Winnipeg crisis intervention specialist suggests that during an acute workplace crisis, employees experience an intense need for personal safety and security. Therefore management should not discount anyone’s emotions but must acknowledge and share in the loss by making themselves available to listen. She indicates that several specific initiatives are valuable in helping employees move through their personal challenges. These include:

• Giving employees some sense of control by calling them together and asking what needs to happen to make them feel safe;
• Providing as much practical help as possible; for instance, Winnipeg businesses allowed employees to go home, call a spouse, their children or parents, others issued cell phones for easy access to relatives while other companies brought in radios or tuned into television news;
• Facilitating group meetings that allow employees to discuss the tragedy openly and share their reactions, then planning for daily, weekly, and monthly discussions;
• Facilitating a group discussion at the 90 day milestone to provide a sense of closure to the event;
• Honouring individual uniqueness by respecting closed doors, quiet times, privacy, general sadness and tears;
• Making contact with employees who are on sick leave or vacation and connecting them to what is happening at work;
• Tracking down any business travelers, accounting for all employees and communicating the results to the workplace;
• Setting up a buddy system for mutual support, sharing and contact;
• Confirming facts, dispelling rumours and communicating frequently by email, bulletin board postings or any other means that provides information to employees quickly;
• Recognizing when individuals are not coping well and directing them to more specific one-to-one counseling;
• Encouraging employees to participate in a vigil or remembrance ceremony with moments of silence and reflection; once time has moved on, recognizing the anniversary of the event;
• Allowing expressions of sympathy and loss within the workplace, be it cards, artwork, or a photo display on the door of a lost employee; providing time to attend funerals and memorial services;
• Providing backup work support, adjusting workloads or negotiating time off to assist those employees having a difficult time;
• Providing recognition to employees who take leadership in helping colleagues or who have taken steps to volunteer or give blood.

Ms. MacKenzie further advises that many viewers of this tragedy may also experience post traumatic stress disorder, a type of silent psychological suffering. She alerts managers to be aware of employees who experience recurring, distressing dreams and flashbacks accompanied by irritability, avoidance of activities, reduced interest in work and a lack of concentration.

Thankfully most workplace crisis events are not as catastrophic as the recent World Trade Centre event and can be effectively managed through the services of a company employee assistance plan. These services typically offer limited confidential employee counseling in a number of areas, are easily attained as part of your company benefit package and are usually quite economical for both large and small companies. Employee assistance services put distressed employees in touch with professional counselors through a 1-800 number or limited face-to-face meetings. Telephones are staffed 12-24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

An employee assistance plan is a cost effective means of assisting your employees to deal with individual distress caused by divorce, financial difficulties, family conflict, teen issues, gambling, alcohol or death in the family. Several local vendors offer exceptional service; these include Manitoba Blue Cross, Wilson Banwell, Family Services and Warren Shepell Consultants.

Time is slipping by and memories of this tragic event will fade but the power of employee emotion in the workplace will never be forgotten. Protect and nurture your people resources when you can and they will reward you tenfold.