Employee Focus and Work/Life Balance in the Aftermath of September 11th

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Employee Focus and Work/Life Balance in the
Aftermath of September 11th

• Sharon Ryan Montgomery, Psy.D.

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Prior to September 11th

• Prior to 9/11 people were expressing significant
  stress related to the pressures of balancing
  demands of their multiple roles in life.

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The Out of Control Syndrome

• Causes
• Two income families 70 of women with children
  ages 6-17 in the workforce.
• High Divorce Rate 50
• Increased Expectations Quality of Life
• Media

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Causes Continued

• Communication Technology
• Increased Standard of Living
• Inflation 250,000 300,000 per child to 18
  years of age.
• Fewer Support Systems mobility factor

5
Impact

• Physical and emotional exhaustion and fatigue
• Depletion Superficiality going through motions
  of life No quality
• Time Management problems
• Physical and emotional problems

6
Impact Continued

• Disconnection/Alienation
• Sexual Dysfunction DINS
• Priority/Role Conflicts
• Faking-it Syndrome
• Parenting by Guilt

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Cumulative Effect

• The Stress Scale/Stress of Adjusting to Change

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Personality Types that Stress Career/Family
Balance

• Perfectionistic/OCD
• Controllers
• Depressive
• High Anxiety/Worriers
• Guilt Driven
• Passive/Dependent, Non-Assertive
• Type A Personality/Over Extenders
• Histrionic/Drama Queens
• Attention Deficit Disorder

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Psychological Impact of 9/11 and the Recessed
Economy

• Unique Trauma
• Ambiguity of the feared object (enemy)
• Lack of closure
• Ongoing threats terrorism, biochemical attacks

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Psychological Impact of 9/11 and the Recessed
Economy

• Response to trauma is individualized.
• In part response is determined by
• Intensity and reach of the trauma
• Pre-morbid personality and temperment
• Prior emotional/psychological problems and
  stressors
• History of prior losses, traumas, etc. Overload
  Phenomena
• Existing support-systems

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Psychological Impact of 9/11 and the Recessed
Economy

• Immediate Reaction vs. Slow Simmer Effect

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Normal Range of Responses to 9/11 Still in
Healing Stage

• Feelings of vulnerability and insecurity
  un-easy life
• Anxiety myriad of generalized and specific fears
  (flying, mail, etc.)
• Control Issues displaced
• Cognitive Disturbances focus, concentration,
  etc.
• Psychosomatic Complaints
• Depression and Grieving

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Normal Range of Responses to 9/11 Still in
Healing Stage

• Insomnia
• Alterations in Priorities Life Style Changes
• Increased emphasis on family, friends and people
  connections.
• Better balance of work vs. family leisure time.
• Increased desire for flexibility job sharing,
  telecommuting, less travel.
• Philosophical Shifts no dress rehearsal to
  anarchy responses

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Suggested Treatments

• Unstigmatized individual counseling
• In-company educational programs and support
  groups
• Homogeneous very effective for these types of
  reactions
• Alternative stress reduction interventions (i.e.
  yoga, meditation, etc.)

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Suggested Treatments

• Emotional Responses indicating need for referral
  for professional intervention.
• EAP
• Counseling
• Support groups

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Differential Diagnosis Trauma Related
Disturbances and Their Symptoms

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder exposure to
  actual or perceived threat of death or injury.

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Traumatic event is re-experienced
• Intrusive thoughts or memories
• Nightmares/bad dreams
• Flashbacks
• Cue experiences (Psychological and Physiological)

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Avoidant Responses
• Of feelings, thoughts, or conversation associated
  with trauma
• Psychic numbing and detachment
• Poor recall of specifics

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Hyper-arousal Responses
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Concentration problems
• Hyper-vigilance
• Startle reaction

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Dissociative Responses
• Depersonalization or derealization
• Fugue states
• Spacing out or cognitive disengagement
• Trance states
• Amnesia or missing time
• Identity alteration or confusion

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Somatic Disturbances
• Conversion reactions (I.e. paralysis, anesthesia,
  blindness, and deafeness)
• Somatization
• Psychogenic pain (I.e. pelvic pain, chronic pain)

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Sexual Disturbance
• Sexual Distress (including sexual dysfunction)
• Sexual fears and conflicts

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Trauma-Related Cogntive Disturbance
• Low self-esteem
• Helplessness
• Hopelessness
• Overvalued ideas regarding the level of danger in
  the environment
• Idealization of perpetrators

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Tension-Reduction Activities (Briere, 1992a)
• Self-mutiliation
• Binging-purging
• Dysfunctional sexual behavior (including sex
  addiction)
• Compulsive stealing
• Impulsive violent behavior

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Transient Post Traumatic Psychotic Reactions
• Stress-induced cognitive slippage, loosened
  associations
• Stress-induced hallucinations (often trauma
  congruent)
• Stress-induced delusions (often trauma congruent
  especially paranoia)

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Suggestions for HR Managers

• Keeping people busy and getting them back to work
  is important because it keeps their minds off of
  current events.
• Urge employees to come to work and get back into
  their routine wherever possible.

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Suggestions for HR Managers

• Educate managers about the possible anxiety
  problems and employee concerns.
• Suggest tools or approaches they should use.
• Urge managers to talk directly to their employees
  about these issues and respond rapidly to their
  requests.

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Suggestions for HR Managers

• Designate an HR person to be the primary contact
  for issues related the trauma.
• Provide onsite or telephone unstigmatized
  counseling on individual and group basis.
• Add information to your website which covers
  issues related to this event.

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Suggestions for HR Managers

• If individual workers are clearly being
  disruptive or disturbed (because of their
  anxiety) refer them to the appropriate counseling
  resource.
• Contact your employees in international locations
  that may be at risk for terrorism or retaliation.
  Ask them what they need and respond rapidly to
  the requests.

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Suggestions for HR Managers

• Encourage employees who see harassment (of
  employees perceived to be from certain religious
  and ethnic groups) to report it immediately.
• Remind employees of the penalties for harassment.
• Assign an HR professional to handle these cases
  and identify any employees that may be at risk
  of violence or harassment.

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Suggestions for HR Managers

• Allow or even encourage workers to take time off
  to work for charities or to give blood, in order
  to meet their need to do something to help.
• Be more flexible in requests for using sick leave
  and vacation.
• Allow workers time to call friends and relatives
  to talk out their concerns.

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Suggestions for HR Managers

• Allow stressed workers to work at home or use
  sick days until their anxieties subside.
• Allow workers to postpone or cancel business
  trips that require commercial flights if they are
  expressing significant fears.

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Suggestions for HR Managers

• Involve workers (or union) in the process of
  alleviating anxiety in order to lessen their
  fears and to get their ownership of the
  problem.
• Tell employees that you will keep them informed
  about any events through e-mails or the
  loudspeaker, so they have no need to constantly
  listen to the news