Responding to the human side of crises in the workplace

Recent events remind us that scary, dangerous, and stressful situations can happen anywhere: on the street corner, at the grocery store, and—far too frequently—in the workplace. Crises may occur in our own locale or in neighbourhoods and work sites around the world. Business leaders are challenged to help employees deal with trauma and also restore their workplaces to normal as quickly as possible. And while a crisis is often chaotic and unexpected, there are proven steps you can take to mentally respond better and return to productive work, whether you’re an employee or manager. Fortunately, employers don’t have to address crisis-related challenges alone. In addition to providing support for managing stress and other behavioural health issues, employee assistance programmes (EAPs) offer critical incident response services, providing guidance and support for employees and managers following a critical incident. It’s important to understand how this resource works and when to call on it.