Managing the emotional impact of disaster relief: The Gendarmerie Nationale and the crash of Germanwings Flight 952

摘要

Problems stemming from work-related stress are increasingly being recognized as an important economic issue that involves both direct and indirect costs and can affect a company's performance and reputation. As a result, many organizations have developed strategies to deal with trauma-related risks to their employees. But what can be done for those whose very job, day in and day out, is to intervene in situations that can lead to profound emotional shock, such as law enforcement officials, firefighters, medics, and relief workers? The approach taken by the Gendarmerie Nationale, one of two national police forces in France, in dealing with the crash of Germanwings Flight 952 in southern France on March 24, 2015, shows that even organizations with a tradition of stoic fearlessness can benefit by incorporating the acceptance of emotional distress in their work and developing procedures to address it.