Assisting employees in dangerous locations: providing onsite EA services to workers deployed to dangerous locations will improve their chances of completing their tours of duty and make them more likely to use the EAP when they return home.

With the globalization of commerce, many corporations are conducting business in foreign lands known to be at elevated risk of danger to employees. Various companies currently are deploying workers to countries engaged in armed conflict or experiencing violent internal turmoil, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia, and Haiti.

While company leaders may have a very good feel for their business goals and how to accomplish them, they may not recognize the numerous ways that working in a dangerous environment can affect both individual employees and the organization. They may not know what the employees expect of the company or themselves or how well they understand their work environment and its associated risks. Company leaders also may be completely unaware that an employee may be silently struggling with a feeling of helplessness because he/she cannot comfort a young family member at home with serious medical problems. Another employee may have left home with unresolved marital problems and is wondering daily if he will soon be facing a divorce.

These business leaders need to understand that safeguarding employees who are working overseas requires addressing not just physical safety concerns but behavioral safety issues as well. They need to be educated about the importance of carefully evaluating the emotional and behavioral resiliency of employees prior to assigning them to overseas work details. In particular, they need to recognize that their organizations would benefit greatly from developing a pre-crisis plan to help prevent a traumatic event and maintain the emotional well-being and health of all employees.

DISENGAGED FROM THE COMPANY

Employers need to consider many factors before they seriously contemplate deploying workers to dangerous locations. Some companies that have hired individuals specifically to work in war zones have found that failing to fully evaluate an employee's understanding of the living conditions in the deployment area and the daily job expectations can cost the organization in several ways. For example, individuals who have never worked or perhaps even traveled outside their native country are likely to experience increased levels of anxiety and stress. Once the novelty of arriving in a foreign country dissipates and the reality of not having families or loved ones available for emotional support sinks in, workers lacking travel experience tend to become disengaged from the company and its mission and goals.

At the very least, employees working in high-risk (and, thus, high-stress) locations may experience feelings of anxiety, homesickness, guilt for not being "stronger," or depression. They may lack the emotional skills to cope in an uncertain environment and resort to alcohol or drugs, which, aside from the health risks they pose, might be illegal in the country in which the employees are working.

These challenges can be especially difficult for a worker who has never considered him/herself to have trouble dealing with personal problems. Such a worker might see his/her inability to cope as a sign of weakness or incompetence. A related problem can arise if an employee did not attain a high level of formal education--which is common among newly hired contract workers deployed to work in the Middle East--and is proud of having been hired by a global company to work overseas. This employee may not be willing to risk his/her job security by asking an "appropriate" company staff member to arrange for telephonic counseling.

The challenges are even greater if a serious incident occurs, such as a co-worker being hit by gunfire, killed in an explosion, or kidnapped. No matter how hard individuals may try to "act strong," coping with a workplace critical incident that involves a co-worker's death or serious injury is extremely difficult. No one is ever fully prepared to deal with the sudden flow of emotions caused by such a trauma, though some employees will respond better than others. Even those who seem least affected, however, will begin to question their physical safety and find that memories of the incident affect their ability to concentrate. Eventually, their emotional well-being may suffer, and with it their productivity, They may even have to return to their home country without completing their job assignment, forcing their employer to recruit new workers to replace them.

Although many companies offer EAP services to employees in the organization's home country, few make them available to workers deployed to dangerous and/or unstable sociopolitical environments. These situations provide a wonderful opportunity for both internal as well as external EAPs to "think outside the box" and go beyond the traditional EAP rote. This requires EA professionals to possess a good working knowledge of the fundamentals of employee assistance; it also requires insight, innovativeness, and a clear understanding of the need to look at the company's situation through fresh eyes to be able to help identify the new challenges facing the organization. Developing viable solutions to help resolve these challenges is crucial, as is demonstrating a thorough knowledge of the company culture to facilitate positive communication with company decision-makers.

CONSIDERING NEW SERVICES

Establishing a detailed awareness of the risks posed by a dangerous work environment and recognizing how employees may respond to it will greatly help EA professionals as they initiate the process of creating an EAP for workers deployed to high-risk locations. Some questions EA professionals need to ask during this process are as follows:

* In what ways does the high-risk location differ from the employees' home community, both in terms of the work environment and the overall living situation?

* Can employees safely interact socially with local residents, or will they need to be concerned for their physical well-being?

* Should employees limit their leisure activities to company-approved public facilities and adhere to nightly curfews to help ensure their safety?

* Are employees who work in dangerous areas able to sleep comfortably at night, or are they likely to be disturbed by sounds of social unrest or turmoil?

It is unrealistic for an EAP to assume that an employee, even one who has worked in an overseas location, will be able to cope effectively in a dangerous environment without having direct access to clinical or psychoeducational assistance. Living and working with constant threats of terrorism or acts of violence (whether real or perceived) and having to leave families and personal support systems behind for an extended period of time require strong coping skills. Difficult situations often reduce one's sense of personal safety and security, which can significantly affect concentration and alertness. The uncertainty of change and not knowing what to expect can be extremely stressful and ultimately can affect not only deployed workers but the home workforce as well.

While taking into account the business organization's financial ability to support an EAP for this population of employees and their families, EA professionals should use this opportunity to consider new services to provide. For example, an EAP could help human resources specialists increase their understanding of the behavioral skills and qualities for which they should assess to determine whether an employee has the necessary resiliency to be considered for assignment to a dangerous location. Because resiliency is learned, employees should demonstrate the ability to accept change in order to help them adjust to their new environment.

An EAP could be based within a relatively close distance of the dangerous work environment in order to be visible and more easily accessible to employees. Routinely making the short trip to provide onsite services would afford an EA professional the opportunity to become better aware of work and personal stressors and the depth of their impact on deployed individuals (and their families back home). Meeting the EA professional face to face would also allow workers to better understand and develop trust in the EAP, advantages that will serve both the workers and the EA professionals after the employees return home. Employees will be more receptive to contacting the EAP for assistance if they are familiar with its services and believe it understands the company's culture.

The EAP could also be of assistance in helping workers in dangerous locations make the transition back to their home environments. This service would be valuable not only to workers whose overseas assignments have ended, but also to those who are returning because of a family emergency In the event of a family death or other serious event that would require an employee to leave the job location immediately, an onsite EA professional would be able to meet with the worker to help him/her prepare emotionally for the trip home. This would help the worker make the mental transition required in such situations.

ADDING SIGNIFICANT VALUE

Offering EAP services to workers in dangerous locations would also help businesses better prepare for and perhaps even prevent a crisis or traumatic event. The EAP could help employers and workers understand what to expect and how to help themselves with the recovery process. Employees and their coworkers and supervisors would learn how they can support each other and assist those who are more affected by an incident in another location.

With more and more companies expanding their business arrangements to all parts of the world, today's EA professionals must be flexible, open minded, and adaptable to change. In this era of globalization, EAPs should look for opportunities to provide services that go beyond their traditional roles and add significant value to their presence.

Evangelina B. Hammonds, LCSW 

Evangelina Hammonds is a trauma specialist and president of Behavioral International in Houston, Texas. Behavioral International develops behavioral safety plans and provides crisis management consultation to EAPs and businesses. She can be reached at [e-mail].