Tips
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Take some time to reflect with your employees about what 2009 has meant for each of you personally and as a unit. What struggles have you faced? How did your team cope with them? What helped and what didn't help? How have you grown stronger as a community and work force and in what ways can your teamwork and interaction improve further?
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Dear ,
As 2009 draws to a close we find it both appropriate and beneficial to take some time to reflect on the past year. Every year brings new experiences and challenges, but a healthy reflection on past events and how we have coped with them will better prepare us for coping in the future. Our goal this year was to share with you tips and resources
on how to psychologically prepare your workforce so that when a crisis
happens you will experience less of a negative impact on your employees'
emotional health and productivity. In today's fast paced world
so much information is available, it is often difficult to not only
sort all the information we receive each day but also put into practice
ideas you have deemed vital to the long-term success of your business.
We hope the following synopsis of the previous newsletter topics will
be helpful in steering you back to topics of interest which you didn't
have time to research further.
From all of us in the Trauma Team, we wish you and your loved ones a happy and safe new year. May 2010 enrich our lives with more peace, love and hope.
Warmest wishes,
Vanessa & Wilma
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Reflecting on 2009
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 A Review of Trauma Talk Newsletters in 2009
As we approach the end of the first decade
of the not-so-new millennium, what stands out for you? Has this been a time of joy and growth
for you? Or has it been a time of hardship and
despair? Perhaps the ebb and flow of life have
manifested in multiple ways.
Two thousand and nine has been peppered with
problems from the economic slump and the housing crisis to massive
job loss and business failures. Natural disasters such as earthquakes,
wild fires, floods and hurricanes burst on the planet with the usual
destruction and devastation. In writing our Trauma Talk Newsletter each month, we have aimed to address current issues and concerns and offer relevant tools and information for your business. We hope you find the following review of 2009's newsletter topics useful as the information and advice may be just as relevant for 2010 and beyond.
In January we discussed the economic crisis and, more specifically, job loss. As the economy continues to recover job loss will continue to be an issue. In this newsletter we offered termination advice for employers that included: involving employees in the process to give them a sense of control and pre-arranging a statement of separation that details what will be told to prospective employers. Individuals that have lost their jobs must believe that there is a future beyond the current hardship and not view this as the end of the employment road.
Our February newsletter addressed cumulative stress: the effect of multiple stressors on an individual's ability to cope with a stressful situation at hand. The process of acknowledging the fact that world news, the economy, family struggles, etc. contribute greatly to underlying stress and our ability to cope with more stress is an important step toward managing cumulative stress. In reflecting upon the past year for yourself identify past stressors that continue to affect your current reaction to stress and your ability to cope with it. We followed up this discussion of cumulative stress by addressing the topics of domestic violence at the workplace in April, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in May.
In March we discussed ways to evaluate your business's preparedness for an emergency or traumatic event and followed this up with our three-part series in June, July and August on: planning for a crisis, responding to a critical incident, and recovering from a critical incident. In these newsletters we outlined best business practices for setting up a critical incident plan that will expedite all aspects of dealing with a critical incident in the workplace while mitigating monetary loss and psychological effects.
September's newsletter focused on pandemic flu and ways to prevent and cope with an outbreak in the workplace. Your company should consider preventative measures such as company wide immunizations and/or meetings that address health concerns and provide information on where and how they can receive immunizations. As with any critical incident, an efficient communication system is vital. Constant communication will allow you to keep employees informed about the current safety status at the work place and other relevant information.
In light of Loma Prieta's 20-year anniversary we addressed earthquake preparedness in October. We advised adding the following components to your existing trauma response plan in order to better cope with an earthquake: an established and practiced earthquake drill protocol, duties and responsibilities of
employees during a crisis, post-incident debriefing, a strong communication system, and access to outside resources (e.g. mental health, legal, insurance).
After discussing several types of critical incidents, we found Psychological First Aid (PFA) an important topic to discuss in November. PFA provides individuals with the tools necessary to help others cope with a critical incident. These tools include constructive communication, assistance by restoring basic needs (food, shelter, reunion with family), and referral to professional trauma assistance.
We hope that you have found this review insightful. If you are interested in re-reading any of the above newsletters please be on the lookout for archives on our website coming soon! Also, please feel free to forward any unanswered questions or comments to info@traumaoutreach.com. We would also love to hear any and all feedback you have about Trauma Talk as a whole! Please read more about our short survey below.
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________________________________________________ ,Thank
you for taking the time to read this month's Trauma Talk. It is our
hope that you have found the information presented in this issue
useful. We would love to hear your opinion of all of our newsletters thus far.
Your opinion matters greatly to us! We would appreciate it if you would
take a few minutes to complete our survey by clicking on the link below.Trauma Talk SurveyUntil our next talk, stay healthy and be prepared!
Warmly,
The Trauma Team
Trauma Outreach Associates, Inc.
Phone: 415.772.9999
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