One of a manager’s worst nightmares happen when traumatic incidents occur within the workplace; yet the success of the company, both long term and short term, may depend on management’s response to a traumatic event.
Traumatized workers tend to temporarily become more dependent than under normal circumstances, and from this disposition they are acutely aware of management’s response to their situation; when the impression is formed that management has no empathy for their trauma, and is more concerned about the loss, or inconvenient disruption caused by the incident, it holds serious consequences for their positive identification with the company, its culture, and their commitment to the work.
There are several types of traumatic events that can occur in the workplace, including:
- Physical fighting or violence such as assaults, robbery, threats, rape or stalking
- Natural disasters, for example earth quakes or floods
- Disasters like fires or explosions
- Serious injuries or accidents
- Suicides
- Heart attacks or strokes
- Violent attacks by co-workers, customers or business partners
- Restructuring, downsizing and layoffs
- Ongoing construction works and the stress of constant disruptions, noise, and moving together with the resulting changes in the relationship to co-workers
OCC offers structured Critical Incident Stress Debriefing to groups and individuals, on and off site.