Helping Disaster Relief Employees Navigate Trauma

On September 11, 2001, thousands of disaster relief workers from across the country made their way to New York City – 57,000 from the American Red Cross, alone – and served over 14 million meals, opened dozens of shelters, and aided with emotional support and health services for thousands of people. One relief worker, Karla Duncan, reflected on how difficult her deployment to Ground Zero was, facing people who were searching for their loved ones, knowing the chances of them being found alive were growing slimmer as the days passed.

“There are no words to describe it. I will never forget the time I was there, on September 15, and it really activated your senses. Visually, of course, it was unbelievably tragic to see the sheer mountainous size of the downed towers,” Duncan said, recounting how her hearing was affected by the sky full of aircraft, her smell due to the burning fires, and her touch by the layer of dust covering everything; “People even used that dust to write messages of encouragement to the responders by utilizing store windows to write their well wishes.” 

Disaster relief work is an extremely strenuous career that requires operational planning, organizing, coordination, and trust—despite decentralized relief actions—to ensure everyone receives the help they need. The very nature of the work means that relief workers are exposed to trauma that could disrupt their own mental health. 

However, experts hold contradictory views on whether trauma exposure has positive or negative effects on these workers. Previous research focused mainly on the negative outcomes of trauma exposure while other research finds that trauma exposure can possibly motivate workers and develop their emotional resilience.   

To uncover whether the effects of trauma exposure are positive or negative on relief workers, Iana Shaheen (University of Arkansas), David Dobryzkowski (University of Arkansas), and Llord Brooks(University of South Florida) study how trauma exposure affects commitment and integrative behaviors, and how supervisor support influences these relationships in “The influence of trauma on internal integration: An approach-avoidance analysis in disaster relief operations.”

Impact of Trauma Exposure 

Worldwide, approximately 450,000 disaster relief workers dedicate their lives to aiding communities during and after disasters, facing unique and traumatic events, and their ability to stay committed to the work determines their success. Relief worker commitment largely drives internal integration, the extent to which an organization is collaborative and synchronized. Internal integration is necessary for disaster relief work organizational success, as increased communication, trust and respect, information and resource sharing, goal congruence, collective responsibility, and teamwork are required to meet the needs of those involved.    

Furthermore, cooperative disposition is the extent of relief workers’ willingness to work with other individuals, share resources, and maintain relationships, even if it’s not self-serving, while organizational commitment is a relief worker’s emotional attachment and perceived obligation to remain with the organization. 

When relief workers lack the authority, culture, skills, or competencies necessary to engage in integrative work, or when the organization experiences high levels of turnover and short-term service, the job becomes much more difficult, leading to detrimental mental health concerns.  

Trauma exposure can lead to mental health struggles or avoidance coping, which negatively affect a relief worker’s cooperative disposition. For example, according to the research, after employees experienced trauma, they reported dependencies on substances and antidepressant medication as coping methods, firefighter suicide rates doubled, and 80% experienced mental health issues, with half of those issues being depression. As a result, disaster relief organizations dedicate substantial amounts of scarce resources to support these workers with counseling or other assistance. 

Essentiality of Supervisor Support 

These undesirable effects of disaster relief and trauma exposure induce avoidance coping strategies, making workers distant and disengaged, further impact mental health, relationships, social functioning, and motivation. The researchers thus used approach-avoidance coping theory, the natural human tendency to pursue pleasure and avoid pain, to test whether trauma exposure has positive or negative effects on relief workers.

“While some disaster relief organizations actively address the problems associated with trauma exposure by providing counseling and assistance, resource limitations can constrain these efforts,” say Shaheen, Dobryzkowski and Brooks. “Many relief workers move from one disaster to another while experiencing trauma, which may affect their ability to respond and work collaboratively.”  

Supervisor support is essential to workers, mitigating the effects of demanding, stressful, and traumatic work environments by providing psychological resources for trauma coping. Therefore, the researchers tested 300 relief workers on the influence of trauma exposure and supervisor support on internal integration, and the findings are crucial to disaster relief work. 

Firstly, trauma exposure elicits avoidance coping behaviors, decreasing workers’ cooperative disposition and approach coping behaviors, a motivation for organizational commitment. Secondly, both cooperative disposition and organizational commitment mediate the relationship between trauma exposure and internal integration. Lastly, supervisor support amplifies these relationships; supervisor approach and avoidance orientations provide higher internal integration levels than subjects exposed to trauma with no supervisor support. 

Because of this study, the researchers urge disaster relief organizations to follow two suggestions. Although trauma exposure may motivate workers to engage in relief work, organizations should act to support psychological health and cooperative behaviors across the board. Additionally, managers should provide any supervisor support possible, as any form of support is better than none, especially in their vital role of helping workers deal with trauma and effectively achieve internal integration.

Psychological Toll of Disaster Relief Work 

Disasters regularly occur across the globe, whether of natural or terroristic nature, from the magnitude 7.6 earthquakes in Japan to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. If it were not for disaster relief workers and organizations that continuously provide humanitarian needs to those in dire situations, the profound challenges would be exponentially worse.  

The selfless yet strenuous nature of disaster relief work presents difficulties of its own, as individuals and organizations bear immense responsibility and complexities working on the front lines. Operational planning, decentralized relief actions, and the need for seamless collaboration are crucial components in effectively delivering aid to those in need.  

Additionally, the inevitable trauma exposure relief workers experience has a massive effect on their mental health and commitment to their work. As the researchers examined the intricate dynamics of disaster relief organizations and the influence of trauma on internal integration, they found the significance of cooperative disposition and organizational commitment, as well as the vitality of internal integration and supervisor support for the success of worker efforts.

In conclusion, the experiences of individuals like Karla Duncan vividly illustrate the struggles faced by relief workers in the field, challenged by the emotional and psychological toll of assisting those in desperate need. Different scenarios of disaster relief produce different challenges, but all the same, internal integration and supervisor support are crucial components in alleviating the negative effects of demanding and traumatic work environments. With this support, relief workers can commit fully to aiding the victims of disasters.