National Tragedies and Organizations
Looking Back to September 11

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By Andrew Coutermarsh
Reprinted by permission from the September 2002 issue of Identity Marketing

I wrote the following column shortly after September 11, 2001. For various reasons the column was never published. As we face the anniversary of this infamous attack on our economic, political and social systems, the words written a year ago remind me that we humans are a walking paradox: that as individuals we can feel so fragile, and as a society we are remarkably strong and resilient. Somewhere in between, organizations attempt to deal with the individual experience while maintaining the business of business.

Organizationally we have learned a lot in the past year, on our own and from others. We have reviewed our security systems, revised how we travel together, revisited what may have been very mundane tasks such as mail sorting, and perhaps, have recognized once again, the humanity that is at the core of all organizations.

It is this humanity that is the focus of this column. Without recognizing and acknowledging this humanity, HR managers are doing a grave disservice to the organizations and individuals whom they serve. We may not always have the answers or understand in which direction we should head, but if our actions are guided by certain principles, ultimately we will come through even the most difficult adversities...AC

I am writing this eight days after the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC. I'm not certain why I selected this topic, except perhaps that in writing about it I might experience my own catharsis and to try and figure out what the organization's role should be in situations like this.

Without question, what happened on September 11, 2001 is the worst attack on this country in 225 years. Personally, when I consider the number of victims either dead, or surviving relatives and friends of those who died, I physically feel like my heart will break. After experiencing the Vietnam Era, three major assassinations, the space shuttle explosion, the first attack on the World Trade Center, the Oklahoma City bombing and countless terrorist strikes outside the U.S., I can honestly say that I have never felt the weight of the moment as I do now.

Remembering back eight days, I can envision the stunned reactions around the office, the sense of overwhelming disbelief that something like this could be happening. I remember everyone glued to radios and the small television that someone brought in. I remember people numbly going through the paces, as if there was a reality where the everyday mundane activity we call work could actually co-exist with what was happening just 70 miles away.

There was a surreal quality to everything that day and for days after. Even now, when more than a week has passed, the world seems tilted off its axis and we wonder if it will ever be right again.

I also remember about that day, the feeling that there should be something that I should be doing as the HR director, to help make it better for people, to find a way to ease the shock and sorrow. I remember wondering if we should send people home and close for the day. The situation was so extraordinary that it didn't feel right to even attempt to continue with the day-to-day routine.

At the same time, from a business perspective, it didn't seem right to close. Everyone we knew was safe. No one at the company had relatives or friends at the WTC and no one could honestly believe that a terrorist would blow up a stress ball supplier. We still had customers who required service, so we had a job to do.

And so, in the end, I spent the day smiling at people and speaking gently and quietly, acknowledging the shared sense of undefinable loss, listening carefully to what people were saying and the underlying meta-messages they were sending. Some people left to retrieve their children from school. No one made a big deal about it. I had an overwhelming need to hug my own children who are all grown and living in other parts of the country. I keep wishing that someone would bring in their kids so I could at least touch something that held hope and promise for the future.

It's relatively easy to console when you are not the one experiencing the pain. It's another story entirely when you are a part of the group experience. Looking back, I can see that we all were trying to deal with our personal feelings of terror, confusion, grief and loss. As employees we might have looked to managers for some guidance, consolation and leadership. As managers we were having a difficult time sorting through our own reactions and emotions, making it difficult to know how to help others.

On September 12 we started to collect donations for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. This seemed to pull the company together in a positive direction. People got excited as I e-mailed updates of our progress and kept upping the collection goal. In hindsight, I think that we all needed to do something - something positive - something to dispel the feelings of impotence - something so that we could say "we helped."

Even now I wonder if there was anything else we should have done as an organization. For once in my life I didn't have the answers. Perhaps there is no one way that an organization should respond. Perhaps each response depends on the culture of the particular company. Perhaps, not having any precedents, we all need to feel our way through the darkness.

I do know this: that at times like these, we are all pretty much the same. We have the same feelings and emotions, to a greater or lesser degree, the same needs, acknowledged or not, and the same desires for peace.

Whatever the organization's response, it must be based on this common humanity, this shared sense of tragedy. We must make sure that we acknowledge openly, the hugeness of the situation. We must acknowledge one another's fears, sorrow and sense of loss. We must allow people the opportunity to talk and to share their thoughts about the devastating occurrence. We must allow people to be human, and recognize that none of us can possibly focus normally on the every day aspects of the job.

Most of all, we must acknowledge each other and acknowledge that we are social beings who need contact with each other and to be treated lovingly and compassionately.

 

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Andrew Coutermarsh holds a Masters of Science degree in Management from Antioch University/Antioch New England Graduate School where he is also a member of the adjunct faculty teaching Human Resource Development. He is an advisor for student practicum projects. He holds SPHR (Sr. Professional in Human Resources) designation from the Certification Institute of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Coutermarsh has spent the last 20+ years in the human resource profession and is currently director of human resources for Prime Line.