Dealing With a Traumatic Workplace Incident

Unfortunately there are times when a workplace will suffer circumstances that expose staff to traumatic situations, such
as workplace violence, injury-causing accidents, or distressing company or community news (like 9/11/2001). When that
happens there can be an intense negative impact for staff throughout every level of the organization. Every situation offers a
different set of circumstances and variables, but all of them disrupt the workplace emotionally. Violence, deaths, injuries, and
safety issues tend to be more shocking and fear evoking, while organizational trauma like a large downsizing can erode the very
trust fabric within the company. Either way, the pain permeates and the effects can be far reaching. There is understandable
concern by the company for the welfare of is workers in these situations. Penn Behavioral Health Corporate Services, because
of its experience, offers an informed perspective on how these emotionally wrought situations can be most effectively
managed.

This short piece from the Penn Behavioral Health Corporate Services (PBHCS) Management Series - based on our hands-on
performance of hundreds of supportive interventions - is designed to help organizations and managers successfully navigate
themselves as well as manage their staff through these emotional times. Services in this area are referred to at PBHCS as
Critical Incident Response (CIR).

When Penn Behavioral Health Corporate Services CIR is Beneficial?

Initially, there is likely to be a range of reactions from stone silence to active crying, from staff members wishing to be alone to
those needing to seek the company of others, from those wanting to immediately return to work, to those unable to work.
There is no right, wrong, or normal and each person must be allowed the dignity of their own process for handling such
situations.

The time immediately after the incident is critical. It is here that the organization sets into motion the when, where, and
how of managing workforce reactions and either facilitates or impedes recovery of stability. What works best is a seamless,
well thought out plan that covers announcements, work changes, needs assessments, interventions, and follow-up services.
What often gets lost at this time is that those doing the planning and the making of arrangements are just as likely to be
effected as the rest of the staff. This sometimes leads to well-intended responses that do not adequately meet employee
needs, and in worse case scenarios make it even harder for them by doing too much or too little, too soon or too late.
Consultation with the EAP will provide objective, emotionally impartial feedback that incorporates our experience
regarding what has worked, as well as what has not. Many organizations have used these consultations to frame approaches
that yielded optimum support for employees, managers, and effected administrators - even those at the very top of the
company.

Managers and administrators should be aware of the rare times that reactions are severe and need special case-by-case
attention. Where an employee presents a danger to him/herself or others, or presents safety issues, secure safety and
consult PBHCS and we will walk you through getting that individual to a crisis evaluation center. If an employee is so upset that
they request counseling support immediately, contact PBHCS and we will effect a referral. Another rare occurrence is when
employees use a traumatic event as opportunity to pursue a negative (non-physically-violent) agenda with the organization.
Part of the initial EAP consultation should be devoted to develop responses that maintain focus on the issue at hand while
intelligently managing behaviors emanating from displaced emotions directed at the organization.

“Best Practices” Utilization of CIR Services

Because traumatic incidents at work are unusual, most workplaces are sometimes unsure what to do and how to handle the
immediacy and intensity of emerging emotions and behaviors. The following points are suggestions that have worked well for
many companies within the first forty-eight hours after an incident:

During the first twenty-four hours

 First and foremost do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of all concerned (staff, customers, public).
 Once all parties are safe, consult with Penn Behavioral Health Corporate Services to help your organization gain perspective
on when and how to:
• Make announcements and other communications
• Handle initial reactions
© Penn Behavioral Health Corporate Services EAP: 888-321-4433
 • Determine the need for CIR intervention and when.
 Provide employees as much information as is organizationally possible or expedient. This information should center on that
which will make the workplace feel more safe and secure. Gory details are not helpful. A succinct and honest
accounting of what happened and the present status is what is needed. If the situation is unfolding, efforts should
be made to update staff as soon as and as often as is reasonable.
 Consider that employees have varying degrees of natural resilience that enables them to recover from disturbing
circumstances. Do not assume that they are sick and unable to manage themselves. Being upset is a natural response
to crisis situations, do not pathologize the experience.
 Treat each employee individually, allowing them to deal with the situation per their own processes.
 Create a supportive environment that acknowledges the impact and provides immediate temporary work changes such
as, meetings to provide information, closing early, or slowing down workflow. Where such measures are not
organizationally possible, do whatever can be done to convey care and concern for staff.
 Inform employees that the Employee Assistance Program is available to help them. Provide them with telephone
numbers and all pertinent contact information. Print up relevant topic letters from our website
(www.pennbehavioralhealth.org ) that offer support for these kinds of situations and disseminate them to effected staff.
 Monitor the workforce; be observant of those not able to resume their normal duties. Understand that crying, initial
sadness, or withdrawing behaviors are not evidence that a worker needs help. These may be completely normal reactions
for that individual, and while they may be uncomfortable to watch, they do not automatically require outside intervention.
If an employee wishes to process what happened on his/her own, please let them, and if they ask for help please call the
EAP.
 An employee needs immediate intervention if they become harmful t o themselves, others, or property, or when they
threaten harm. Secure the safety of the workplace and consult PBHCS immediately when that happens.
 Work groups tend to begin informally processing the trauma on their own as a group, as sub-groups, and individually.
Informal employee-to-employee group support for each other should be encouraged and facilitated by the organization as
it is indication of healthy workplace resilience and is often as or more effective as outside intervention. There have been
times that work-groups have so effectively processed a situation that they felt no need for outside help. (Managers should
be aware of these situations, as forcing an intervention that employees neither want nor need may actually have a
negative workplace effect.)
 Discuss with staff their desire or perceived need for outside CIR intervention without pushing in either direction or
filtering their responses with your own thoughts. If they believe they need a CIR intervention, then one should occur. If
they do not, their wishes should be respected - but if management believes strongly that there is such need, consult again
with PBHCS to develop a strategy that incorporates both perspectives.
 Make sure that managers, human resources, and administrators have support available to them and that it is actually
offered to them. Depending upon the workplace, support for this group may be different and separate from that for
other employees.

During the next twenty-four hours

 Consult with PBHCS after getting feedback from employees. Even if they reject a CIR intervention, consultation may help
the organization move through this situation and may help determine the need for services at a later date.
 Interventions performed prior to forty-eight hours generally result in shell- shocked people who are not yet ready to
communicate. There are times, however that employee needs dictate earlier intervention. Consultation with PBHCS will
help you make that determination.
 Some groups actually resent outsiders talking to them before they have had a chance to talk to each other, while
other groups may request interventions, even within the first forty-eight hours, which underscores the importance of
talking to them about their needs and consulting with the EAP.
 Continue to monitor staff at all levels of the organization for return to normalcy, recognizing that employees who do not,
may need additional help. Again use EAP consultation to process these situations.
 After staff have had opportunity to informally talk to each other:
• They begin to tap into their natural levels of resilience
• Occasionally they are able process to the point that they resume activities and need no outside help

Beyond forty-eight hours

 Conduct interventions that were agreed upon during the consultation between EAP and HR/Management during the past
two days.
 Continue to monitor employees and if after a week or so work-flow does not return to normal, or if there are specific
individuals that were not able to “bounce back” from the incident, consult with PBHCS again to process possible next steps.

© Penn Behavioral Health Corporate Services EAP: 888-321-4433

The need for CIR Intervention becomes significant:
 When staff request outside intervention
 When, after several days, normal operations have not resumed (even if there has already been a first intervention)
 When a workforce experiences multiple traumas within a short period like a month, a quarter, or a year (whether or not
there have been previous interventions).

Components of Effective Trauma Interventions

 Initial consultation with EAP
• Human Resources and Upper Management
• Specific departmental management as appropriate
 Observation, then discussion with staff regarding the need for outside intervention
 Intervention Set-Up
• Where
o A large comfortable room with enough privacy to convey confidentiality
o Away from the station or of the trauma, if possible
o Away from distractions – calls, interruptions - that could be seen by staff as not treating the
situation seriously
• When
 Generally after forty-eight hours, but sometimes immediately after safety has been achieved
 At a time during the workday when employees are not pressured to go back to their stations (this
may require special scheduling)
• How many sessions
 How many employees can realistically attend during the workday, and at what time(s)
 How many shifts need CIR support (some shifts may have been less affected, or may have
adequately processed the trauma by themselves – each work-group is different)
• How and when to announce the intervention
 Follow-up consultation with EAP
• To process the effectiveness of the interventions
• To determine the need for additional interventions or other services

Ten Steps (for Managers and Administrators) for Effective Supervisory CIR
1. Consult with PBHCS as soon as safety has been secured in the aftermath of workplace trauma.
2. Consult with PBHCS when a workplace trauma is negatively impacting the workforce, even if some time has passed
after the event.
3. Create an atmosphere that expresses care for the needs of employees. Make sure that any announcements made
convey that care.
4. Where possible and reasonable, allow staff forty-eight hours to draw upon their own individual and group resilience.
(But each worksite is individual and may need on-site intervention within the first forty-eight hours.) Encourage
informal employee-to-employee group support during this period.
5. Make employees aware of all available helpful resources, particularly the EAP (give them the phone number).
6. Monitor the workforce for the ability to return to normal workflow.
7. Discuss with staff whether or not they believe they need outside intervention.
8. Schedule CIR interventions where needed.
9. Continue to monitor staff for after effects and further needs – even after an intervention.
10. Consult with PBHCS to ensure all appropriate employee needs have been addressed – even after an intervention.

“Dealing With a Traumatic workplace Incident” is part of the Penn Behavioral Health Corporate Services
Corporate/Management Series trainings. Please contact Penn Behavioral Health Corporate Services at 888-321-4433 for more
information.

© Penn Behavioral Health Corporate Services EAP: 888-321-4433