Disaster Event Management, Essay Example

Psychological Challenges of Dealing With Significant Loss of Life

Governments hold primary duty to design and implement disaster relief programs. Voluntary and private organizations certainly contribute their efforts and experience as well to the specific areas with accordance to the state plans. Given the situation that has currently taken place within the given federal agency, it is essential to note upfront that the key to the efficient management of a disaster event lies in the pre-disaster preparation and planning programs. “The purpose of disaster planning is to provide the policies, procedures, and guidelines necessary to protect lives, limit injury, and protect property immediately before, during, and after a disaster event. A comprehensive emergency management plan addresses four areas: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.” (Maurer, 2005, p. 501)

The two last phases of this emergency cycle are of particular importance when it comes to managing the outcomes of the disaster. With the first impact of a disaster event, the response phase starts and goes on until the direct life and property preservation actions have been fulfilled, significant lifelines have been renovated, and primary damage evaluation has been completed. Very often disasters lead to the loss of human lives. It is vital to understand that the impact of the disaster event may cause deep psychological, physical and emotional wounds to the employees who have witnessed or learnt about the loss of the human life within their agency.

Coping with the traumatic event within the organization requires special attention from the managers, psychologists as well as top management. “People come first” is written on the FEMA website as a number one emergency response action step. (FEMA) One of the vital questions that appear during this period of time is how to lead the agency back to normal and mainly what is normal now? Supervising managers often tend to grasp the responsibility of quickly adapting the changed workplace back to how it was before and end up creating an image of single-minded and cold individuals who close their eyes on the existing problem. However, it is important to understand that managers have also been influenced by the disaster event and simply are trying to find the way out of the situation. Human nature is different and where one benefits from taking some days off, another one feels a strong necessity to dive in the work load of tasks and get over their feelings. However, to make things professionally and to provide comfort to the team that goes through difficult times, agency requires services of a certified psychologist.

Bringing about a counselor or a psychologist who has experience working in the agency or an organization is a very comfortable way of dealing with the disaster event and trauma. By initiating this, supervising managers send a message to the office that the top management values its employees strongly and wants to support them both as individuals and as a team. Those coworkers, who need to talk in private or group, get a chance to do so. Others choose their own personal ways of coping with the situation. Psychologist being an outsider may as well provide valuable information about what help is available out there for the stuff.

One of the most valued measures to cure the post-traumatic effect that occurred at the agency is to organize a memorial service that will be held outside or inside the business place and will allow people to feel the care. Not necessarily the setting must bear a religious connotation but can also be an organized meeting in a park or in a café where in the more social setting employees will have a chance to express their feelings and talk among themselves. It must be a place where they will be able to discuss the event and its outcomes, what-ifs as well as the loss of a colleague.

People vary in their personal grief reactions and there is no single pattern or instruction. “There’s a real sadness that comes from a real loss and it’s not showing weakness to express that sadness.” (The Inquirer) Losing a coworker after a long sickness is sad but losing someone at work as a result of a disaster event is very unexpected and untimely. When all these colleagues woke up in the morning, they kept on doing their regular things and have planned their day. But the world has suddenly changed.

When such changes as mergers or downsizing occur within the organization, many employees that were not terminated experience a grieving process. Those who remained at their desks while their coworkers were laid back, go through a stage called survivor’s guilt. Within the framework or a disaster event, this takes a whole new level, particularly when a colleague or several are dead. Managers who tend to talk about what they see and feel is happening in the company, are not treated as uncaring individuals.  It is absolutely normal to discuss the death of a colleague instead of making the subject become a taboo. It is important to let the office know that not only coworkers but the whole agency is going through the period of grieving and grief as a feeling requires acknowledgement by the whole team.

Supervising managers and the HR personnel need to be aware of the fact that at times their efforts might seem to bring no results because it is impossible to please each and every employee. There will be those who will not feel comfortable about mentioning their late colleague on a regular basis. Instead they would prefer to not talk about it and let it go away. A very wise recommendation in this situation is to advise these people to search for some individual support outside of the agency. Some of the team members might feel anger. It is important to acknowledge them of this because most of the time they will have no idea about their own behavior and its effects on colleagues and working environment. By helping people understand and accept that everyone is affected by a disaster event to varying degrees, the team will create a feeling and sense of universality. Even for those employees who were away during the traumatic event and might possible experience thoughts of “it could have been me” kind, the feeling of care from the side of managers and the HR team will bring about positive results.

What is often left behind when overcoming a loss of life within the agency is the fact of how close some colleagues become with each other. They have separate lives outside their workplace but practice shows that often these people tend to know more about their inner feelings and thoughts than those they live with.

Many company policies write out that in case of the death of the relative employees have right for a compassionate leave.  However, there does not exist much regulation on what to do in case of the death of a colleague or friend. What may seem to be an uncaring behavior from the side of managers or the HR team often is just a result of the lack of knowledge of how to handle a disaster event. Supervising managers take the responsibility on their shoulders to guide the team through post-traumatic period while they have never had any particular training. Therefore, they often fail and are misjudged.

“Although most of us can’t imagine having occasion to use the words “coworker” and “died” in the same sentence, losing a colleague to illness, accident or sudden death is more common than you might expect.” (ABC News) Agencies and the managers must not forget the milestone anniversaries of the disaster events. If the dates are ignored, they might find a big number of work staff absent on the day with legitimate reasons. Acknowledgement and remembrance will let the people know that what happened is not forgotten and that they are valued by their top management as an individual and as a team.

References

FEMA . Emergency Response Acton Steps. http://www.fema.gov/plan/ehp/response.shtm#6

Goodman, M. (2009) Death in the Workplace: How to Cope. How to Grieve When the Prevailing Career Advice is Never Let ‘Em See You Sweat. ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/death-workplace-cope/story?id=9118735

Maurer, F. A. Smith, C. M. (2005) Community/Public Health Nursing Practice. Health for Families and Populations. Elsevier Saunders. 501

Whitaker, L. (2009) Losing a Colleague. The Inquirer. http://www.philly.com/philly/jobs/CTW_jobs_20090609_Losing_a_colleague.html