How are you dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy?

System

The terrorist attacks have affected us -- including our employees and employers -- in vastly different ways. And we have different ways of helping our employees cope. We can help each other in this Employers Forum community by sharing our experiences, hopes, ideas, and solutions with each other. Your story could help someone across town or across the country.

What effect has this tragedy had on your company? On your employees? On yourself? How have you helped people cope with it? What worked, and what didn't?

I'll go first. Here in Nashville, Tennessee, we're pretty far removed from the events. We're generally shell-shocked, like everyone else. I don't think we got much work done last week, but things are somewhat normal now. None of our employees or associates across the country died, but an employee lost a close friend. At least one employee is in the Army Reserves, and he might be called up for active duty next month.

So far, we haven't had to do a lot to deal with it: collected money for the Red Cross, told people about donating blood, and let employees take off for memorial services. I'm sure many of you have done much more.

James Sokolowski
Senior Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers

Mike Maslanka

it's been very tough at andrews and kurth,the law firm i moved to this past july...lawyers in the firm had clients in the wtc---and some of them sustained a heavy loss of life...our firm has started a relief fund for one client in particular that was very hard hit with the loss of human life...we also have put quotes on our web site from the president...last friday,was red,white,and blue day where employees wore the colors... i have very mixed feeling about the last,but one of the other lawyers said that when something like this occurs,people feel without power,and it's important for them to do *something*...we have also put together a client alert to give some pratical advice---especially on employee benefit issues...finally,i was in san antonio last week on tuesday and wednesday taking deposition--i thought about cxling them,but the clients had come in from michigan--i still feel a little guilty...reagrds to everyone from texas,mike maslanka

sonny

Just curious, mike, as to your mixed feelings on the red white and blue day? We are in FL. . have many employees who are National Guard and reserves so are preparing for their probably departure for the HR/USERRA standpoint. They report the waiting is tough and we just try to be supportive. The most direct "hit" on us was 2 of our firefighters (brothers) uncle is a fire fighter in NY and had not been heard from. We have pretty gotten back to business as usual and Gabrielle provided a deversion. ( not a pleasant one, but a deversion none the less) so, as Robert Frost said when asked the most important thing he had learned about life replied "it goes on." I think we just continue to need to be prepared for more problems.

System

FYI: We've added another section (Harassment of Muslims) to the article "Dealing with a national tragedy." See [url]http://www.hrhero.com/headlines/tragedy.shtml[/url]

Have any of you had trouble with this?

Christy Reeder
Website Managing Editor
[url]www.HRhero.com[/url]

Mike Maslanka

last night i reread drawing life by david gelernter who survived an attack by the unibomber but who was maimed...this is what he says:The psalm is right:life is a stubborn return from sorrow again and again.To suffer longing and loss makes you not a victim but a human being .And that sense of loss is your only real connection to human beings you don't like ,to the ones with whom you disagree down to the ground.It is a subterranean connection,root to root;it connects you even,in the end,to your bitterest enemies. I find his words help me make sense of tragedy.regards from texas,michael maslanka