|
Click the image for a larger view
|
One of the busiest bridges in Minnesota collapsing at rush hour, killing 13, injuring 100 — is a disaster with an impact far beyond the Mississippi River banks that were the site of this catastrophe.
After a tragedy of this magnitude, it is common practice for first responders like police, EMTs, and firefighters to go through critical incident stress debriefing. However, when all of those tons of cement and steel plunged 65 feet into the Mississippi River, it wasn\'t just a bridge that collapsed — for employees of PCI, Inc., it was a worksite and one of their coworkers that went down with it. Greg Jolstad, 45, cement worker and Operating Engineers Local 49 union member, was the last victim pulled from the river.
"I don\'t think we know completely how these people will respond over the years to this," says Dave Semerad, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota. "I think it\'s going to haunt them in ways that we can\'t imagine for many years." It is a unique challenge facing workers, management, union leaders, and EAP counselors. That\'s because, while construction workers are no strangers to job-related risks, 1,900-foot-long bridges are just not supposed to collapse under your feet.
"I think they will be fearful of working in a similar situation for the rest of their lives," says Semerad, "which is frightful when you think about it."
\'Tough guy\' nature
Adding to the challenge for employee assistance counselors is the "tough guy" nature of the people involved, which is something that Felling knows well. "You\'ll say to them that, \'you may find it hard to get out of bed, you might feel depression or anxiety,\' but you\'re talking to cement workers or electricians, and they just kind of roll their eyes."
What those workers may not realize until it\'s too late, is that unprocessed emotions will come out somehow. If not dealt with directly, Felling says they often come out "sideways."
"You might not become an alcoholic, but the people you love might think you are impossible to be around," Felling explains. "All of a sudden, your kid doesn\'t want you to bring him to the softball game because you\'re saying you\'re OK, but you get so mad at the game because what\'s unprocessed comes out sideways."
Addressing safety changes
"An event of this magnitude will clearly show the impact that workplace accidents have on employees," says Karen Hagen of T.E.A.M. "Our hope is that the trades will use this renewed awareness to help make safety changes."
When Hagen talks about safety changes, she\'s not talking steeltoed boots and safety goggles. "Safety is forever compromised if you don\'t properly prepare your guys for emergency or trauma response when you train them for the trades," Hagen insists.
Workplace accidents have a ripple effect, and every worker will respond differently. This means that everyone, from apprentices to supervisors, need to be able to recognize the signs of stress. Stress can lead to distraction, which can result in more accidents, which take a toll both in human and financial terms.
"We don\'t know how this (bridge collapse) will affect people," Semerad says. "Will it affect their health? Yeah. Will they be worried? Yeah, they\'ll be worried. Are they going to want to turn down a job that is similar to this? Maybe. Are they going to want to change careers? Maybe. Are they going to want to go back to their company. Maybe, maybe not."
Need for training
But it\'s this type of uncertainty that is revealing the importance of effective training in critical incident response, stress management, and communication skills for union members. Everyone, from apprentices to union representatives, need to be able to recognize stress indicators. And then, they need to understand how to effectively communicate their concerns with co-workers.
This is why Glen Johnson of Local 49 said he is more thankful than ever that the union has an employee assistance company like T.E.A.M. on board to help them deal with the effects of the 35W bridge collapse. Johnson says that he wouldn\'t have any idea how to assume an EAP-type role, and talk to the union members and other workers. "I wouldn\'t have a clue as to how to go about doing that," he admits.
But an EAP well-versed in the unique challenges of the building trades can help address their concerns.
"I don\'t get a lot of thanks from people for the things I do," Johnson says of his position at Local 49, "but I get a lot of thanks from people after they\'ve taken advantage of EAP counseling and they find out its value."
Karen Hagen is the president of the St. Paul, Minnesota-based T.E.A.M./Total Employee Assistance Management. For more information on T.E.A.M., its critical incident services and other programs, call 651-642-0182 or visit www.team-mn.com
Share
|
Click the image for a larger view
|
"I wish I could describe to you what those folks went through, because it was surreal," recalls Chuck Felling, a counselor who was immediately dispatched to perform critical incident stress debriefing at the site. "It was catastrophic. To see it, it just doesn\’t register."
One of the busiest bridges in Minnesota collapsing at rush hour, killing 13, injuring 100 — is a disaster with an impact far beyond the Mississippi River banks that were the site of this catastrophe.
After a tragedy of this magnitude, it is common practice for first responders like police, EMTs, and firefighters to go through critical incident stress debriefing. However, when all of those tons of cement and steel plunged 65 feet into the Mississippi River, it wasn\’t just a bridge that collapsed — for employees of PCI, Inc., it was a worksite and one of their coworkers that went down with it. Greg Jolstad, 45, cement worker and Operating Engineers Local 49 union member, was the last victim pulled from the river.
"I don\’t think we know completely how these people will respond over the years to this," says Dave Semerad, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota. "I think it\’s going to haunt them in ways that we can\’t imagine for many years." It is a unique challenge facing workers, management, union leaders, and EAP counselors. That\’s because, while construction workers are no strangers to job-related risks, 1,900-foot-long bridges are just not supposed to collapse under your feet.
"I think they will be fearful of working in a similar situation for the rest of their lives," says Semerad, "which is frightful when you think about it."
\’Tough guy\’ nature
Adding to the challenge for employee assistance counselors is the "tough guy" nature of the people involved, which is something that Felling knows well. "You\’ll say to them that, \’you may find it hard to get out of bed, you might feel depression or anxiety,\’ but you\’re talking to cement workers or electricians, and they just kind of roll their eyes."
What those workers may not realize until it\’s too late, is that unprocessed emotions will come out somehow. If not dealt with directly, Felling says they often come out "sideways."
"You might not become an alcoholic, but the people you love might think you are impossible to be around," Felling explains. "All of a sudden, your kid doesn\’t want you to bring him to the softball game because you\’re saying you\’re OK, but you get so mad at the game because what\’s unprocessed comes out sideways."
Addressing safety changes
"An event of this magnitude will clearly show the impact that workplace accidents have on employees," says Karen Hagen of T.E.A.M. "Our hope is that the trades will use this renewed awareness to help make safety changes."
When Hagen talks about safety changes, she\’s not talking steeltoed boots and safety goggles. "Safety is forever compromised if you don\’t properly prepare your guys for emergency or trauma response when you train them for the trades," Hagen insists.
Workplace accidents have a ripple effect, and every worker will respond differently. This means that everyone, from apprentices to supervisors, need to be able to recognize the signs of stress. Stress can lead to distraction, which can result in more accidents, which take a toll both in human and financial terms.
"We don\’t know how this (bridge collapse) will affect people," Semerad says. "Will it affect their health? Yeah. Will they be worried? Yeah, they\’ll be worried. Are they going to want to turn down a job that is similar to this? Maybe. Are they going to want to change careers? Maybe. Are they going to want to go back to their company. Maybe, maybe not."
Need for training
But it\’s this type of uncertainty that is revealing the importance of effective training in critical incident response, stress management, and communication skills for union members. Everyone, from apprentices to union representatives, need to be able to recognize stress indicators. And then, they need to understand how to effectively communicate their concerns with co-workers.
This is why Glen Johnson of Local 49 said he is more thankful than ever that the union has an employee assistance company like T.E.A.M. on board to help them deal with the effects of the 35W bridge collapse. Johnson says that he wouldn\’t have any idea how to assume an EAP-type role, and talk to the union members and other workers. "I wouldn\’t have a clue as to how to go about doing that," he admits.
But an EAP well-versed in the unique challenges of the building trades can help address their concerns.
"I don\’t get a lot of thanks from people for the things I do," Johnson says of his position at Local 49, "but I get a lot of thanks from people after they\’ve taken advantage of EAP counseling and they find out its value."
Karen Hagen is the president of the St. Paul, Minnesota-based T.E.A.M./Total Employee Assistance Management. For more information on T.E.A.M., its critical incident services and other programs, call 651-642-0182 or visit www.team-mn.com