Disaster warning and evacuation responses by private business employees

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Disaster Response
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Understanding employee responses to workplace disaster threats is crucial for effective emergency management.
• Previous research has not comprehensively addressed how employees navigate disaster warnings impacting their employment.
• This study addresses a gap by examining employee reactions and influencing factors during business-related disasters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate employee responses when their place of employment is threatened by disaster.
• To identify key variables predicting employee evacuation behaviors and work-family tensions.
• To inform policy changes for business managers to better support employees during crises.

Main Methods:

• Conducted interviews with 406 employees from 118 businesses affected by seven recent disasters.
• Utilized multivariate analyses to determine predictive variables for employee responses.
• Examined factors including risk perception, evacuation timing, and work-family conflict.

Main Results:

• Most employees initially responded with denial, followed by intensified risk perception.
• Emergent risk perception was higher in areas with less disaster planning and for residents of mobile homes/apartments.
• Racial minority employees with children reported the highest work and family tensions during evacuations.

Conclusions:

• Employee disaster response is complex, evolving from denial to risk awareness.
• Community preparedness and housing type significantly influence individual risk perception.
• Targeted support is needed for employees, particularly minority groups with dependents, to mitigate work-family conflicts during disasters.