It’s no secret that corporate life gets hectic and puts a lot of stress on the employees. But do the higher-ups have a role to play in dissipating that burden? Critical incident stress management is one such implementation process that helps respond to the essential needs of a situation. Think of massive stress.
It is in no way said that organizations do nothing when it comes to the well-being of the employees. However, it is also expected that organizations fail to provide necessary support – partly due to the lack of trust in sharing what’s bothering them.
There can be different effects on individuals who feel the same stress that employees think – just because person A is unfazed under pressure does not mean person B should be expected to react the same way. This basic understanding is what’s amiss in employers.
It can even be due to poor work life balance, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The following article will discuss what CISM is, its impact on people, and how employers can implement it. Let’s have a look!
What is Critical Incident Stress?
Before we dive into the implementation of the process and how it works, it is important to know critical incident stress. Stress can be a psychological, mental, emotional, and physical burden on an individual.
Initially used for people serving in the army and then for those in the medical sector, critical incident stress management finds use cases in several sectors now.
For instance, in the corporate sector, critical incident stress would mean an employee experiencing something traumatic, such as work pressure, for a long time, leading to severe burnout.
Similarly, critical incident stress is any stressful feeling that arises in an individual due to a critical incident. Usually, in the corporate sector, it is seen as work pressure, a toxic environment with very little room for professional growth, and a lack of support. It may be the lack of flexible work schedules.
Anything that can trigger an emotional reaction qualifies as a critical incident. Thus, the primary objective of CISM is to support people who have been through that incident
Similarly, it can be experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace and continuing to work there until administrative actions are taken against the perpetrator.
This can look like an underway POSH investigation, and the jury is undecided. This is when the individual/s has an intense, fresh, unresolved reaction. Critical incident stress management will be applicable here to support those employees.
The duration of the stress is brutal to ascertain as it is an individual experience – there’s bound to be a difference in the duration at which it affects someone. Usually, with support (official or unofficial), critical incident stress occurs for 2-4 weeks.
Classification of Critical Incident Stress
Critical incident stress has several components classified as emotional, mental, or physical impacts. Here’s how critical incident stress can look in a corporate setting:
- Inability to concentrate
- Exhaustion
- Guilt
- Grief and sadness
- Feeling uncertain
- Fearfulness
- Dizziness and headache
- Trouble making decision
- Increased anger
- Profound confusion
- Isolation, wanting to socialize less
- Changing appetite
- Poor coping mechanisms, such as relying on drugs or alcohol
- Numbness
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, as people react differently to something as familiar as workplace stress. Some may even become numb and not respond right away. This is why having appropriate support and resources in place is essential. You do not have to react right away, and it is normal.
You must know when to seek support, as it is one of the most crucial things to do when stressed. It is usually difficult for people to open it easily for several reasons that require an article of their own (let us know in the comments if you’d want to explore that.)
Speaking up about your feelings to colleagues, friends, family, or even your employer is the first and most crucial step in managing stress after a critical incident. Something as small as having employee resource groups can help prevent critical incident stress and its impact.
Understanding Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM)
Critical incident stress management helps address employee issues and involves different steps. Before we dive into those, let’s start with an understanding of the management process.
Companies/employers ensure the person’s feelings are understood and addressed through the critical incident stress management process.
They are known to positively impact the person as it helps them manage their stress. The first and foremost is making the person comfortable enough to share their feelings.
This cannot be forced, so it requires a careful thought process that does not backfire and worsens the situation. Be it helping them mastering the art of first-time management or aligning the resources to meet their needs. There’s no one-stop solution for all the problems – it requires personalization.
How Does it Work
These also make up for the benefits of critical incident stress management:
- Normalizes instinctive reaction to an incident
- Lessens the impact of the critical incident
- Encourages natural recovery process
- Restores adaptive functional skills in the individual/group
- Determines the need for supportive services or therapy
This personalized approach helps individuals feel comfortable sharing their concerns and asking for help. That’s what the process looks like superficially. Let’s dive deeper into the components of critical incident stress management.
Components of Critical Incident Stress Management | Learn How to Implement
There are several components of critical incident stress management, and it usually involves steps that analyze, break down, and address the incident, thereby providing a solution to the individual/s. Here are the critical incident stress management steps:
Step 1: Pre-crisis Preparation
This first component of the management process involves helpful procedures such as encouraging stress management. This is an important step, as you may understand – this revolves around educating the person about the crisis, management, and planning.
These may look like complex steps for an individual, but they are simply breaking down the problem for the individual and making them aware of the necessary action. This step of the management includes providing details of the traumatic incident.
For instance, steps were taken to address the incident and the available resources to help the people involved.
This also includes cutting down any rumors or falsehoods that can worsen the situation. This is the briefing part of the process where employees are aware of the incident (if it’s on a large scale).
Step 2: Pre-incident Information Sharing
This is essential to managing critical incident stress involving disseminating important information. It is similar to a precaution employers may take to prevent another critical incident of stress.
This is where individuals are educated about developing healthy coping skills that help them during high stress. Moreover, this can look like assisting individuals to build resilience. Resilience enables you to adapt to stress, manage trauma or tragedy, and stand brave in adversity.
Step 3: Debriefing
The next step in critical incident stress management is debriefing a significant component. It originates with the development of the debriefing, in which the two terms may be confused. Debriefing is not a standalone intervention but a part of CISM for small groups.
This is a seven-phase intervention that attempts to mitigate stress for further mental health treatment. It can also include steps that help deal with physical and psychological symptoms.
The CISD is for small groups and is not common in one-on-one settings. They are not mandatory and require voluntary involvement so, there’s no pressure to open up.
Only exceptional incidents require CISD within 24 to 72 hours of the incident.
Step 4: Defusing
Critical incident stress defusing is the shorter version of debriefing that usually lasts for 30 to 60 minutes and may run longer. It should be conducted within one to four hours of the critical incident. This is helpful in learning about the individual’s stress and their reaction and gives them space to vent.
This is one of the most crucial steps that helps stabilize people so they can return to their regular routines. that one is a confidential, voluntary opportunity for individuals to share their experiences and seek immediate support after an incident. It can also take the form of an employee handbook or seminars.
Step 5: Follow-up Care
This is the final step of the CISM process, which includes getting the individual in touch with the next level of care. This may take the form of psychological care or medical treatment as needed.
This is an essential part of the process following the initial crisis intervention.
It may include a session on grief and loss to assist people in situations where they may feel that way. It involves creating a healthy environment that’s healthy for them to express their feelings. This gives them an avenue to cope.
That’s all about critical incident stress management and how you can take care of individuals who have undergone such an experience in the workplace. With adherence to CISM protocols and proper training of appropriate management staff, you can ensure the high efficacy of the management system.
Impact of CISM
Critical incident stress management is an essential part of various sectors that help cater to employee well-being. There is an ongoing debate on the impact of CISM in the corporate sector, but it is well-known that it is for the better.
With the implementation of CISM, employees have been shown to have better-coping mechanisms to rely on. They become better at overcoming trauma, especially when they have pre-existing psychological conditions.
They are given the necessary support that helps them cope with the symptoms of their condition (e.g., anxiety, PTSD, etc.) In addition, when CISM occurs in the initial stage of the crisis, employees can benefit even more. This is due to crisis intervention, which helps the employee simply, immediately, practically, and innovatively.
Wrapping It Up!
That was all about critical incident stress management and how you can prevent your employees from facing severe burnout. The article helps you understand critical incident stress and the steps of this management process.
As an employer, you must understand this well and make your workplace a safe space for your employees. It is also vital that you make it a point to train your employees and appropriate staff responsible for implementation.
Preventing stress for your employees is possible through small measures that help you ensure acknowledgment of their health and well-being. Create a safe environment that allows transparency and clear communication.
This will help you avoid disagreements and resentment among employees.
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