A Patriot’s Day Like No Other 

Patriot’s Day is traditionally one of the best days of the year in Boston.  The history, the Red Sox, the Marathon – so much to be excited about.  Many of us had the day off, and for those in the office we may have anticipated a quiet day.  But, this Patriot’s Day was anything but quiet.   As the horror unfolded, we each began to experience our own individual reactions to abnormal events.  What were yours? 

As a manager, you were most likely unprepared for this situation.  In management 101, there’s little mention of terrorist attacks, how to comfort people, and what advice might be handy.  Fortunately, you have your HR team and your EAP standing by.  However, they can’t really help when you are face-to-face with an employee, in tears, or witnessing an unusually harsh response from someone who is usually cool and collected. 

What you CAN do: 

1. Let people express emotion, without feeling that you have to fix it.  Acknowledge what you are observing, and ask if there’s any way you can help. 

2. Be more visible than usual and notice how people are behaving.  Employees need to see you, or at least hear from you if they are remote.  In situations like this, hearing a friendly voice is so much better than an email. 

3. If an employee wants to talk, listen without judgment.  If it feels to you as if the person is in need of more support than you can offer as a manager, ensure that the person is aware of the EAP phone number. 

4. If you feel that you want to offer more concrete advice, it is always safe to make suggestions about self-care.  Encourage employees to take care of themselves, instead of putting pressure on themselves to be okay. 

4. Give people time to recover from the trauma on their own.  Most people will use their resiliency skills to make a comeback, without the need of professional help. 

One of the most important management tools is to take care of yourself first, similar to what we are told on airplanes when we are accompanied by small children.  You can’t be very helpful to others if you aren’t taking extra good care of yourself.