At time of writing there are still people missing after the attack at Manchester Arena. I can't begin to imagine how scared they must feel; they had just had the time of their lives seeing their hero Ariana Grande, maybe for the first time, and are suddenly lost, confused, possibly hurt or in danger and with no communication channel. At the same time, their family and friends are desperately looking for information; the stream of tweets and Facebook posts is devastating and upsetting even for those on the other side of the world.
This is a high profile situation but even day-to-day there are scenarios or encounters that frighten or panic us — a traveller may have taken the wrong turn and ended up in an unsafe neighbourhood or may feel uncomfortable around a suspect person. Incidents can happen anywhere, anytime.
Would your traveller know what to do when they feel they are in danger? Are they aware of some coping mechanisms, what not to do and who to call?
Even a little thought and preparation could put travel managers and companies in good stead to show travellers that they care. During her speech at our RTM conference in 2015 Paralympian Martine Wright stressed that the human touch is critical in a crisis, just as you have seen from the incredible support and spirit that the Manchester community has rallied together in the last few days.
Help will be needed further down the line, too. The effects of Monday, and any event, will always live on for those involved. It affects mental health, decision making and a person's outlook on life - Martine returned to her job after her 7/7 ordeal but soon quit.
Dr Laurent Taymans of International SOS described powerfully why there needs to be support beyond the initial reaction in our recent webinar.
"Organisations often react to the immediate event but post traumatic stress disorder is never something that happens immediately…but after several weeks or months. The first reaction is a lot of empathy and sadness and the first thing we want to do is act…so often they [companies] will get a psychologist and see if they [the victim] can have counsel. This is always very good and helpful but then a few months down the line when everyone has grieved and had time to get to grips…those who weren't witnesses haven't forgotten but it's no longer a priority…but those who were witnesses can have different physiological manifestations."
To truly support the well-being of employees a company must be proactive and preventative. If you are getting started on a risk programme or are looking to fill gaps then our pages on duty of care and crisis management are full of articles that delve into specifics such as the importance of pre-trip education for travellers, which stakeholders should be engaged and some of the challenges during a crisis.
Together we can help each other feel safer in an increasingly scary world.