Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
Center for Trauma Response, Recovery and Preparedness
Connecticut Department of Children and Families
Connecticut Department of Public Health

Pandemic Influenza Workforce Resilience Toolkit


Model Program for Workforce Resilience

Resilience in the workforce is fostered by preparation and knowledge, a confidence in one's ability to take action to manage stress, and a belief that an organization is focused on protecting employee health and safety. A well designed workforce resilience program can mitigate the negative effects of an influenza pandemic on essential service workers and their families. A workforce resilience program can help employees prepare for, cope with, and recover from the social and psychological stressors inherent during a pandemic.

A program such as this focuses on people, an organization's most important asset and aggressively works to create a supportive workplace. It directly targets the "human factor." If an organization is successful, responder performance will remain at optimal levels, staff will adapt well to pressure, keep absenteeism manageable, and the organization will provide an effective emergency response.

A workforce resilience program incorporates a range of activities that protect worker health and safety, provide psychosocial supports during the response, increase staff awareness about pandemic influenza through education and training, and provide an array of resource materials to staff. The resilience program as defined in this toolkit refers to a coordinated set of activities that are utilized in all phases of a pandemic from planning and preparedness to activation and response. It goes beyond traditional psychosocial supports provided during the response phase to include a broad set of activities that in combination foster work resilience.

This section of the Toolkit provides an outline for a model program and identifies where supporting information can be found in the Workforce Resilience Resources section.

The following components would comprise a model workforce resilience program:

Each component is described in more detail below. The Workforce Resilience Resources section of the toolkit contains all of the resources referenced.

Pandemic Flu Plan

All organizations must have a Pandemic Influenza Plan. Resilience can be fostered through careful planning that anticipates the effects that pandemic will have on organizations and identifies actions that can be taken to mitigate these stressors. Individual resilience is positively influenced by one's ability to plan for and respond to stressors. The same is true for organizations. Organizations with comprehensive pandemic flu plans implicitly communicate to staff that they can effectively respond to pandemic.

Planning materials to support the development of a comprehensive Pandemic Flu Plan may be found in Planning and Preparedness and Organizational Resilience.

Personnel Policies Supporting Resilience

During a pandemic, it may be necessary to change or modify policies and procedures. The latest CDC Guidance for Businesses and Employers suggests that organizations review human resource policies to be certain that policies and practices are consistent with public health recommendations and with existing state and federal workplace laws. It may be necessary to relax leave time policies in order to ensure that sick staff remain at home or are able to adequately care for family members.

If the pandemic becomes more severe, it may be necessary to develop policies or procedures that deal with alternative work environments, social distancing in the workplace, and enhanced psychosocial supports.

Information related to policies and procedures may be found in Planning and Preparedness and Organizational Resilience.

Activities Promoting Worker Health and Safety

Essential services organizations must take broad steps to protect and maintain worker health and safety. Workers cannot perform optimally if they are concerned about their own health and safety or that of their families. Organizations must actively demonstrate their commitment to this area through a range of health protection strategies that may be employed during distinct phases of the pandemic.

Worker education regarding infection control procedures prior to an outbreak can familiarize staff with Pandemic Influenza and help them to identify ways they can protect themselves and their families. During a pandemic, it may be necessary to implement active infection control procedures such as standing up fever monitoring stations and/or vaccination sites.

Organizations that proactively attend to worker health and safety will likely have greater success in carrying out their mission.

Health and safety information may be found in Planning and Preparedness, Organizational Resilience, Staff Training, and Educational Materials.

Management Training

Managers are a critical component of the organization's resilience team. They play a critical communication role, familiarizing the staff with the agency's goals, plans, and activities. As supervisors, they are also in the position of coordinating work assignments, evaluating staff performance, monitoring worker stress levels, and providing regular support to staff as they attempt to deal with the stressors of a pandemic. They may be called upon to identify resources when workers are experiencing stress.

Trainings for supervisors should provide them with strategies for maintaining a supportive work environment. This may include training related to pandemic influenza, psychosocial supports and psychological first aid, community and organizational resources for workers and families, and self care strategies.

The Workforce Resilience Resources section contains information for managers under Organizational Resilience, Staff Training, and Educational Materials.

Staff Training and Education

Staff training must be a regular component of a resilience program. Trainings should be designed to increase staff awareness about the unique psychological and physical effects of pandemic, provide basic information regarding personal and family protection, and acquaint staff with facility or community resources that may be available. Increased knowledge and awareness allow staff to feel a sense of efficacy, one indicator of resilience.

Training information for staff may be found in Staff Training and Educational Materials.

Educational Resource Materials

Educational resource materials are a key component of the workforce resilience program. Organizations should collect relevant fact sheets that can be used to increase staff knowledge about the health aspects of pandemic, protective strategies for employees and families, common stress reactions, warning signs, and actions that can be taken to mitigate the negative psychological effects of pandemic. These fact sheets and educational materials can be distributed to employees during the alert and pandemic phases. These materials can also be used as part of the overall training plan.

Resource materials as described above may be found in Educational Materials.

Psychosocial Supports and Self Care Strategies

Organizations must be prepared to make a range of psychosocial supports available to staff and their family members. Some existing programs may need to be expanded in order to adjust to increased need during the pandemic. Certain programs may need to be extended to family members in order to reduce worker anxiety related to concerns for family.

Pandemic flu has the potential to increase work stress due to the unique demands placed on healthcare and other essential service workers and the possible risks they may face. Staff may be expected to work long hours in order to effectively manage the demands of responding to the pandemic influenza. Possible psychosocial supports include the following:

Materials regarding psychosocial supports may be found in Organizational Resilience, Staff Training, and Educational Materials.

Staff Communication Strategies

Responder organizations must think about their communication strategies prior to an outbreak. Communication during the pandemic is critical. Thoughtfully planned and delivered communications can reduce stress and provide staff with coping strategies that ultimately promote resilience. Additionally, communication during the pandemic may need to be broadened to include family members. It should be designed to increase staff awareness about pandemic influenza and measures that can be taken to prevent or slow the rate of transmission.

Effective communication serves to inform staff that the organization is prepared to deal with pandemic. The following are examples of possible communication mechanisms:

Communications resources may be found in Workforce Resilience Resources section, under the Planning and Preparedness, Organizational Resilience, and Educational Materials.