APLAZ
Safty Plans tailored for your company.
We utilize the written word from OSHA, and with them we help you implement safety for the workplace! Keeping employees safe as possible in the evnet of a national tragedy or the regular, life-changing tragedies that occur within your own workplace.
Provide Places for People to Gather and Talk
Many people take comfort in being close to other people when tragedy strikes. You can informally provide opportunities for this interaction by leaving conference rooms with televisions unused. Keep the TV in a break room. Bring in lunch for your staff so people are encouraged to spend time with each other for encouragement, shared grief, and support.
Suggest a pot luck lunch for the second or third day, depending on the nature of the tragedy. Many people talk incessantly during a tragic event; others suffer silently. You will want to draw your silent people out when possible. Central gatherings will help.
Schedule a Meeting to Share Information
In a national tragedy, people want to know the latest information about what is happening. They want reassurances that they and their loved ones are safe. In more personal workplace sorrows, correct information is also important.
Without breaking the confidentiality of the people involved, and with their permission, tell people as much as you can. The more legitimate information people have, the less likely they are to depend on rumors, the less time they spend seeking information.
Give People Something to do to help.
In times of sorrow, when people draw together for sustenance, many want something to do to help solve the problem or to ease the situation. In the instance of the terrorist attack on America, stories of volunteerism, sharing of food and space, giving blood and helping out neighbors and friends abounded. The same kind of stories dominated the Gulf Coast residents’ response to Hurricane Katrina.
People want to bring a casserole to the bereaved family, send flowers to honor the dead and the living, send memories of the employee to the family, and make donations to favorite charities.
Several of my clients held company meetings to bring people up-to-date and share how to donate to relief and the location of the nearest blood donor center during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Others hold company raffles, with the money designated for donations; they purchase raffle items with American Express travel points and employees donate other offerings for the raffle. Many employers match the amount collected. Some companies match employee donations up to a certain amount of dollars with a receipt from the charity. I am sure you can imagine more ways to help that are congruent with your workplace culture.
Make Managers and HR Staff Available
Supervisors and HR staff members are critical company members during tragedy. In a study done years ago by the American Psychological Association, employees overwhelmingly listed personal attention from the supervisor as one of the most rewarding aspects of work. Free up your calendars when tragedy strikes and spend time walking through the workplace and meeting with people who need support or just a listening ear. Be visibly available.
Offer Employee Assistance
If your company has an Employee Assistance Program or counseling available via your health plan, make sure employees know it is available for people who need it. Some programs offer counseling in the workplace. Explore possibilities.
Be Prepared Before Disaster or Tragedy Strikes
Every organization needs a disaster plan. You also need plans for fire, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and any other natural disaster that can occur in your area. All employees should be trained in the specifics of the plan. Prepare people about what actions to take if they are confronted with potential injury in the workplace. Think about whatever is likely to happen and make a plan to handle it – in advance.
Make Grief Training Part of Your Training Program
When tragedy strikes, people are uncertain about what to do. As an example, the spouse of a coworker dies. Close work associates attend the funeral or remembrance ceremony. They may supply the family with food and time. When the employee returns to work after their bereavement leave, however, few fellow employees know what to do.
Should they offer sympathy or encourage the person to talk about his loss. The employee is often isolated because people don’t know what to say or do, so they do nothing.
Teach your staff members about grief, the stages of grief, how to deal with grief in self and coworkers, how to tell children about a tragedy, and more. It will support your workplace positive morale, build employee self-confidence, and lessen the long term impacts of tragedy.
Tragedy does happen in this world. From major national tragedies to more intimate, personal tragedies, we all experience sorrow and tragedy in our lives. I trust these ideas will help you address those that occur or unfold in your workplace more effectively.
For more information on APLAZ Safety Plans, contact an APLAZ business service specialist at (650) 557-3797 or click the contact button: