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Dr. Gina Hechanova is the Chair of the Ateneo de Manila University Department of Psychology and the President of the Psychological Association of the Philippines.
The International Labor Organization estimates that more than four million workers have been affected by Typhoon Yolanda. A number of companies that have offices in the Visayas have had their operations crippled because many of their employees were - are - victims of the deadly cyclone.
What can employers do to help their employee survivors?
The first task is to profile affected employees in terms of their needs. This means classifying them according to what they lost: property, home, loved ones - or any or all of the above.
Basic needs. The most important needs of survivors are basic and security needs. In past disasters, including Yolanda, some Filipino companies helped their employees by:
- Providing calamity loans that can be used to rebuild homes or replace equipment, medical or funeral expenses
- Evacuating employees and providing temporary housing
- Providing assistance in looking for new housing
- Clean-up, food, laundry, childcare brigades
- Allowing emergency leaves
- Relaxing of policies on attendance and dress code for survivors
- Providing Subsidy for meals and transportation prior to payday
- Providing advances in salaries/bonuses
Psychosocial Support. The assistance employers can give survivors goes beyond financial support. Individuals who experienced disasters and have lost loved ones may experience trauma. The first level of psychosocial support is called Psychological First Aid where individuals are allowed to share their stories and express their needs to trained professionals. Those who have lost loved ones may also be helped through group or individual grief/trauma counseling which is more long-term. Other mechanisms that may be considered: community healing masses or prayer sessions.
Note that it is important for organizations to train leaders and other employees on post-trauma effects so they can better help survivors.
Crisis management structure and system. Beyond assistance, the constant threat of disasters require organizations to have a "crisis management team" or "business recovery group" in place. Because in times of crisis quick decisions are needed, people need to be empowered to make decisions without having to consult management all the time.
Communication. An up-to-date employee database is important in tracking employees during disasters. Organizations also use multiple platforms of communication - from landlines, mobile phones, the Internet - to track employees and/or disseminate advisories.
Networks and Partnerships. Because organizations often will not have all the resources to address the needs of their employees, it is important to tap networks and partners that can provide the support not available to employers.
Documentation Evaluation. As we are seeing now, there are many lapses and gaps in the crisis management for Yolanda. Documentation and evaluation is important if we are to become more prepared for disasters. Beyond the finger-pointing and blaming, we need to ask ourselves, Have we learned our lesson? And more importantly, can we prevent this chaos from happening again?
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