Managing crises and trauma in the workplace: how to respond and intervene

1. Health care, human resource, and employee assistance provider professionals must be aware of the impact of trauma in the workplace. 2. Critical Incident Stress (CIS) refers to the work and situations that emergency service professionals face on a regular basis. Trauma in the workplace refers to a work setting, such as an industrial accident, personal injury/illness, or crime taking place in a work setting. The death or injury of an employee outside of the workplace is also considered traumatic for employees. 3. Victims of witnesses of a traumatic incident, a violent crime, physical maltreatment, or sexual abuse may experience Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Individuals of all ages are vulnerable to PTSD. 4. Unresolved CIS or a workplace trauma may result in PTSD for the involved individuals if not handled appropriately.