The Aftermath

The destruction of the World Trade Centre resonated in a way that was similar to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales (or, for those who remember it, the assassination of John F Kennedy). There are however a number of factors that make the events of that day significantly different from other catastrophic events that capture the world’s attention. One aspect that has struck a chord with many people is that most of the victims were where they probably felt perfectly safe: at their desks in their offices, and for the most part in low risk jobs.

In this respect, how we feel about what happened may be more like our responses to, say, the rail crash at Clapham Junction: we all feel much more vulnerable, particularly given that many of us will have been at work ourselves when news first came through. The latest appalling developments, with employees deliberately targeted at work and sent envelopes with a potentially deadly virus, only compounds that new-found insecurity.

Fortunately, events on the scale of 11 September are comparatively rare. However, there are many incidents on a much smaller scale that affect people and organisations: accidents or crimes that affect one or two people – like an armed raid, for example, or car accident – or those that have a major local impact – for example, an explosion in a factory or rail crash.

The extent of that impact on organisations and the individuals who work for them, and on people around them, depends on how closely involved they were. Typical reactions fall, more or less, into five broad groups:

• Those who have been directly caught up in what happened – that is, a company and its employees where people have been injured or killed.
• The relatives and / or friends of people who were directly involved. When some major tragedy happens, even in a moderate-sized town, its smaller employers may find almost all their staff have been bereaved in some way. Examples many of us can probably remember include the shootings in Dunblane and the aeroplane that fell on Lockerbie.
• Those who, probably accidentally and certainly fortuitously, were not in the tragedy – “I missed my flight”, “I had to take my little boy to school”. The impact on them and their relatives can be very severe.
• Those who feel emotionally affected, but have no direct connection. In many cases this is potentially the largest group. For example, almost everyone who worked in the oil industry at the time felt touched by the Piper Alpha disaster, even though the proportion of people who had any direct connection was quite small. This group includes lots of people who feel they had near misses – “I travelled on that train last Thursday when I went up to London for a meeting”.
• Organisations – and therefore people – on whom the disaster has an adverse economic impact. The last four weeks have seen a number of high profile companies in this position, especially in the air industry, and no doubt there will be many more.

• staff appear, or say they feel, demotivated;
• they seem to have difficulty concentrating;
• they take longer than usual to complete routine tasks;
• they forget things, or seem less organised than usual;
• they seem to want to talk about what has happened and how they feel about it;
• they may be easily irritated or upset by comparatively minor things;
• they may suffer minor ailments, and so are increasingly absent from work.

Offering help

When thinking about what support they should make available to employees, companies need to keep in mind the purpose of providing support, which is to help individuals and the work environment as a whole to adjust and regain some sense of equilibrium as quickly as possible – without causing additional stress. Cost is inevitably a restraint on what companies can do, so the approaches outlined below have been deliberately chosen on the basis that the direct cost is low.

As a general rule, employers would do well to avoid direct intervention, or becoming too closely involved, something most employees are unlikely to want. An employer should not take on the roles of counsellor, financial adviser, or legal expert, but it may help employees get access to these specialists. Equally, individuals should be allowed to decide for themselves what help they want, rather than be pushed towards help they do not want.

Each individual affected by a disastrous event will have his or her unique set of needs, and generally these fall into five broad groups: emotional; time away from work; financial; legal; and other practical needs (such as accommodation, help with travel or childcare).

In recent years many larger employers, and some smaller, have offered employee assistance programmes (see panel). This kind of programme will help employers meet many of their staff’s needs. For employers that do not offer this sort of programme though, there are still ways in which they can offer help.


Emotional

There are a number of organisations who offer specialist support to the bereaved or those suffering from post-traumatic stress. Local authorities, for example, have disaster response plans which may include providing counselling for victims, while for victims of crime, Victim Support is only a phone call away.

Many GP surgeries, meanwhile, have bereavement counsellors attached, and even local funeral directors will have contact numbers. The local GP or hospital should also be able to advise on how to contact specialist counsellors for post-traumatic stress.

Nationally, the Samaritans is available 24 hours a day, offering support to anyone who needs to talk about their feelings. They are also usually willing to come and talk to companies about their work.

Time away from work
The typical corporate sickness policy will cover anyone who has been directly involved and injured. The law requires that companies give ‘reasonable unpaid time off’ to an employee to cope with a family emergency, and some offer paid absence as well. However, some staff may need lots of time away from work for various reasons – hospital visits or meetings with solicitors for example. Worries about their pay will only compound their problems.

If the business can afford it, it can of course be a bit more generous than their policies usually allow. Some of the options they and their employees could explore might include paid holiday, anticipating paid holiday from the next holiday year, working reduced hours for a period of time, or making up hours lost at another time, perhaps several weeks later.

Financial

The Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB) offers practical guidance on financial problems and difficulties with debt. They can help with advice on the range of state benefits that might be available to help ease the situation.

Legal

Many disasters, whether accidental or criminal, result in legal claims. It is also surprising how many people die without having made a will. Again, the CAB can help guide individuals towards appropriate legal help. While an employer’s own legal advisors may not specialise in the kind of services employees in difficulties may need, they can probably suggest a firm that does.


Other practical help

The CAB is probably the very best source of information on any practical subject. This is, though, an area where companies themselves could offer some limited financial help, perhaps paying for taxis or childcare for a short time.


Planning for the worst

Every organisation should have some sort of plan that anticipates the possibility of a disaster. What they may not have given enough thought to though, are some of the practical staff issues.


For instance: if the Police need to contact an employee’s next of kin, or if the employer needs to contact staff to tell them about alternative work arrangements, is that personal information – names, contact details, next of kin details – readily available offsite? For larger corporations this may be a matter of backing up computer records offsite, for smaller businesses perhaps something as simple as a list of phone numbers and next of kin details in another secure place (a bank deposit box, perhaps). Providing the information is limited, that staff know that the company has done this, and that controls are in place about when it will be used, a company will not be in breach of the Data Protection Act.


Keeping the payroll running is another example: if the payroll is out of commission how are staff – especially staff in distress for whom worries about pay are the last thing they want – going to be paid? Decision-making will also be a matter for concern – we often hear words like “there was total confusion”. This can persist for days after an event. Who will make decisions, especially if the obvious people are no longer available?


Day-to-day in the workplace
Acknowledging what has happened can be a real help. It can be very painful, particularly to those closely involved, if everyone avoids talking about it or behaves as if nothing has happened. This includes acknowledging significant anniversaries, whether they be personal or public, or anniversaries of similar events in other places. The after-effects of a major disaster can resurface long after the event itself, and anniversaries are a prime time for this to happen. Sympathy – a phone call or short note to someone closely involved offering sympathy – can help them feel valued and supported. Allowing extra time for meetings also offers people the opportunity to talk through their problems. Finally, if events have had an impact on the business, acknowledge it and tell staff how the company proposes dealing with it. Anxiety feeds on rumour and uncertainty: better that staff hear bad news rather than no news.


* * *
Most organisations will never be directly involved in a tragedy like 11 September, or anything remotely similar. However, in the event that something calamitous did happen - some companies may have staff with a particularly close connection, or it may be that everyone feels affected, or that the event has had economic consequences for the business - the way these issues are dealt with can be as significant for the prosperity of company and workforce as the disaster itself.

Employee assistance programmes
This is a specialised service offering support that varies from a 24-hour information and counselling line, to short-term counselling or post-trauma counselling. Costs vary according to numbers of staff in the organisation. Usually all staff providing the service are accredited counsellors.


Useful numbers:
Dovedale Counselling Ltd: 0207 228 6768 (http://www.dovedale.co.uk)
EAR: 0207 834 6666 (http://www.accorservices.co.uk – follow link to EAR)
ICAS: 01908 285200 (http://www.icasgroup.com)


More contacts are available from the British Association of Counselling on 01788 550899, and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development on 0208 971 9000.


Useful organisations to contact


The following will all have local numbers listed in the phone directory:


Citizens’ Advice Bureau
Advice on a wide range of subjects, especially financial, legal and practical help.


CRUSE
One-to-one bereavement support.


The Samaritans
24-hour listening and support (also online at www.samaritans.org.uk).


Victim Support
Support for victims of crime.


National organisations:
British Institute of Counselling (Tel: 01788 550 899)
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (Tel: 020 8971 9000)

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