As floods plague communities around the Chicago area, many businesses and their employees are being affected. Basic survival instincts have kicked-in as families, whose homes have been damaged or destroyed, fight to find warm beds, food and clothing.
Organizations like the Red Cross often provide some initial stress or grief counseling as part of their relief efforts. But even after the initial crisis has been triaged, employees may need help coping with stress, anxiety and daily living. Your hardworking, dedicated staff is likely to be distracted from work by a sense of loss and the stress of rebuilding their lives – while at the same time being fearful of not being effective at work when they need a job most.
Employee assistance programs (EAPs) can help you and your employees cope with these types of circumstances more than you may realize. A few simple steps that I recommend for HR managers include:
- Talk to your Account Manager about the specific challenges faced by your workforce. EAP Account Managers can make recommendations best suited for helping your organization – whether that means having the EAP manage confidential financial assistance programs, providing on-site groups for employees, known as Critical Incident Stress Debriefings (CISDs), or delivering other training, support and services.
- Remind employees that dedicated counselors are just a phone call away. Our EAP provides phone and in-person counseling options. Counselors can help employees cope with the emotional strain of the event and create an action plan for working towards a positive outcome. And, we may be able to identify additional resources to help with an employee’s specific flood-related needs.
- Direct employees to online resources. Ask your EAP about relevant online resources to help your staff. Every single organization that uses our EAP, and every single one of their employees, has access to our Perspectives Online service. Multiple tools, tips and types of guidance are provided there. Simply doing a search for the word “flood” turns up guidance on managing flood-related stress, filing insurance claims, repairing your home and more.
We also manage financial assistance programs for a number of our customers and have seen use of those programs. Our role there is to assess the need for assistance, make sure that program criteria are met and match employees with financial help – all confidentially. A good example of that kind of program is available as a case study on our website.
We’ve received a number of calls from employees affected by the flood already, so we know there is a need for help right now.
Our hearts go out to those that are struggling with this. No matter what type of EAP you have, it can’t hurt to call. And, if you have a high-touch EAP, you might be surprised how much they can help.
Tags: Chicago, chicago floods, counseling, EAP, Employee Assistance Program, HR, HR managers, Perspectives, Rick Kronberg
Leave a Reply