The enemies of America and the free world depend upon our fear for their success. Following September 11, 2001, general anxiety swept through the world, but this fear was especially powerful in the United States of America because the tragedy occurred here. The anthrax deaths, following so closely after the plane bombings, heightened these feelings of fear and anxiety.
Because of the amount of time people spend daily in their workplaces, much of the war against the Saddam Hussein regime will occur while people are at work. I’ll first discuss the emotions of fear and anxiety and their relationship to the productivity of individuals at work. During these times of war worry, there are specific actions you can take to help people (and yourself) mitigate their affect. Then I’ll highlight the actions employers can take to address fear from potential negative events in the workplace.
Fear Is Normal During the War on Terror
Fear is a strong reaction to an anticipated unpleasant event. Fear is normal when elicited by evil acts and potentially evil acts. The issue is to keep fear from paralyzing you and your actions while you still intelligently respond to world events with a heightened sense of awareness and safekeeping.
As an example, if you travel to work on the New York City subway, you need to be aware of the events occurring around you. If you are a hiring employer, you need to pay attention to checking the background of potential employees. You owe this awareness both to yourself and the people you employ. (In fact, as an employer, in addition to the sorrow an injury to an employee will evoke, you may also be liable for the actions of an employee whose background you didn’t adequately check.)
Fear and anxiety are especially rampant when they relate to events or potential events that you cannot predict or control. Actions that involve innocent people and that occur randomly and unpredictably are the toughest to weather. Recovering from their impact is difficult. They impact you emotionally as well as potentially, physically.
Issues such as your proximity to terrible events, your past experience dealing with fear and anxiety, and the support systems of people and resources present in your life impact your coping skills.
War on Television
Speaking to a client today, I said, “When I was watching the war on television last night …” I paused and the profundity of that fact overpowered me. This is the first generation of people who watch war on television. Online news sources report massive numbers of visitors seeking information about the war online.
More information is available from multiple media sources than has ever been available before in the history of the world. Constantly watching and listening to war news can have a profound effect on the minds and emotions of people. Hit with a barrage of information, the constant speculation of journalists, and graphic pictures of war, it is no wonder that a feeling of unease permeates society.
Disagreement over the ethics of war, the need for war, the reasons for war, and the justice of war keep people at odds with their co-workers and neighbors. Tempers are short and because of the emotional and visceral feelings people experience about war, discussion is often heated and disturbing. The participation of a loved one in an unfolding world event will also affect your mood and the level of anxiety you experience.
In this environment, however, recognize that both individuals and employers have paths that will alleviate the level of fear and anxiety.
"To use fear as the friend it is, we must retrain and reprogram ourselves... We must persistently and convincingly tell ourselves that the fear is here - with its gift of energy and heightened awareness - so we can do our best and learn the most in the new situation."
--Peter McWilliams, Author, Life 101
Interested in what you, as an individual, can do to take care of your anxiety and fear?
