Emotional and Mental
Factors Influencing the Resolution of Your Employees' Critical Incident Stress
- Proximity to the critical incident site;
- Relationship to the victims or survivors;
- Previous exposure to past critical incidents;
- Quality of a person’s social support;
- Effectiveness of the employee’s coping skills;
- Prior training or education specific to critical incident’s and how it affects survivors. If a person is aware of the symptoms that may accompany an incident, he/she is generally able to accept the symptoms as a normal reaction to an abnormal situation; and
- Employer response and support to employees following the incident.
Suggestions for Managers
- Address specific safety issues, i.e. internal crises/emergency procedures, worksite accident guidelines, etc.
- Contact appropriate internal personnel, i.e. company nurse, safety coordinator, human resources staff, managers, directors, etc.
- Contact appropriate external personnel, i.e. police, emergency medical assistance, fire department, Best Care EAP, etc.
- Provide information on the incident by reporting appropriate information on the incident as quickly as possible. Misinformation and rumors spread quickly after a critical incident and can negatively affect employee morale and recovery.
- Provide support for employees who sustained trauma and for those who survived the incident.
- Within 24 hours of the incident, management should notify employees of the Best Care EAP services available to them; or contact Best Care EAP regarding the arrangement of onsite support services
Providing onsite counseling support allows victims and survivors the opportunity to communicate their reactions and feelings openly. Timely support can effectively help employees deal with the incident and return to being productive employees on an appropriate timeline.