Supporting Employees Following the Sydney Siege
There are times in our lives where events in the world shock and horrify us. This time, in the form of
terrorism in the centre of iconic Sydney, it has come right to our doorstep. Individuals both directly
and indirectly involved – particularly people who strongly identify with the tragedy and the victims will experience a great variety of thoughts, feelings and behaviours over weeks, months and even
years.
In fact, as thousands pay tribute and we continue to reflect on how to move forward, workplaces are
likely aware that such an unpredictable event – one that has occurred as regular individuals go about
their normal daily working lives – can significantly impact employees’ feelings of mental health and
wellbeing.
Workplaces are in a unique position to create a safe and supportive space to foster resilience in the
aftermath of this tragedy and make a positive difference to how their people cope. Organisational
leadership and support personnel are no doubt reflecting on and planning for how they can best
support their employees.
Specialists in workplace mental health, wellbeing and safety, Sentis, offer some insight, helpful
advice and practical actions for workplace leaders and support personnel. These strategies are
based on the most recent insights and evidence on providing effective and evidence-based best
practice methodology for helping employees cope in these difficult times. We are remarkably
resilient in the face of such difficult times, and there are a few things workplaces can proactively
focus on to facilitate this resilience.
A variety of emotional responses
The Sydney Siege was a completely unpredictable event. Situations such as this often trigger strong
feelings of uncertainty and a loss of control as you go about your daily business. These feelings are
often related to experiencing a period of diminished mental health and wellbeing.
Additionally, feeling hopeless, anxious, overwhelmed, sad, disorientated, distracted, or unmotivated
are very typical reactions. On the other hand, individuals can also feel a sense of strong resolve and
determination, dominated by an intense feeling of – “I’m not going to let this impact me”. There will
also be others who don’t really feel a strong sense of personal attachment or impact.
Following an act of terrorism, there will be a multitude of possible psychological wounds. The
important thing is to respect and provide space for processing the range of emotions. Leaders can
play an important role here in simply ‘checking in’ on how people are coping and offering
themselves, or organisational support services as a safe place to process their worries and concerns.
In the most practical terms, during a face-to-face individual meeting, team meeting, newsletter, or
email - acknowledging, understanding and allowing for a variety of emotional responses – coupled
with raising awareness of and providing referral or access to services when it is needed is a most
helpful course of action.
Family and friends
Encourage employees to spend time with family, friends, and colleagues who they trust and can
provide any needed emotional and practical support. Individual processing as needed, rather than
structured ‘trauma debriefings’ have been shown to be a very helpful way to support positive
mental health and wellbeing in the future.
Focus on healthy behaviours
Our ability to be resilient is impacted directly by our sleep, healthy eating, exercise, and positive
processing of emotions and thinking related to the event. Prioritising these things promotes mental
health and wellbeing. Employees may need to take time out and just engage in simple things they
enjoy to help them get on track. This allows for quiet personal reflection or distraction, which is just
what some employees will need.
Limit viewing of media coverage
Advise your team to limit their viewing of media coverage of the incident. With the best of
intentions, media coverage of the Sydney Siege is intense. Whilst it serves as invaluable source of
information, it can also serve to reinforce feelings of distress and hopelessness.
Establishing or restabling routines
As mentioned, terror events offend our sense of certainty, control, and predictability. Encouraging
employees to reflect on how they can gain this control back in their lives is important. Getting back
to their routines is important for a mentally healthy and adaptive response for employees.
Finding meaning
Encouraging employees to find meaning and purpose in a tragedy increases our resilience to it. This
can be a challenging process as we naturally ask ourselves “why?” Accepting that we won’t always
understand, but that we can find positive ways to contribute helps sustain mental health and
wellbeing in the long term, rather than feelings of despair and hopelessness.
Managing the vulnerabilities of significant milestones
As time goes on, individuals and organisations will come across a range of milestones related to the
event. It is important for long term mental health and wellbeing that significant milestones are
actively managed. For those employees or organisations more directly affected, this will be
particularly important. Having a plan to get away, limit viewing of media coverage, or planning a
relaxing and enjoyable activity will minimise the impact that the anniversary of an event or other
significant milestone will have on mental health and wellbeing.
Referring to professional assistance
If an employee is experiencing intense and persistent feelings of distress that is impacting their
ability to go about their daily life, it is recommended that professional advice is sought. This could
be through existing EAP, specialist trauma counsellors, a registered Clinical Psychologist or 24 hour
help lines such as LifeLine.
Moving towards healing and recovery is not an easy process. There is no set time frame on this for
individuals or defined process that should be followed. Thankfully, workplace leaders and support
personnel, whilst ensuring they too are seeking the support they need - are empowered themselves
to support and guide, using some of the insights provided above, for resilience and do the best they
can in difficult times to support the mental health and wellbeing of their employees.
Kellie Lewis
Mental Health and Wellbeing, Sentis
BSc (Psych); BPsych (Hons); MPsych; MBA
Kellie is a registered psychologist with over 17 years’ experience working with individuals and organisations in the field of
mental health and wellbeing. Kellie applies her extensive knowledge of applied neuroscience, psychology and business to
proactive and preventative approaches to mental health and wellbeing in the workplace for improved business
performance.