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Perceived Safety at Work in the Wake of Terror: The Importance of Security Measures and Emergency Preparedness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2016

Alexander Nissen  and
Trond Heir
Alexander Nissen*
Affiliation:
Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway
Trond Heir
Affiliation:
Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Alexander Nissen, MD, Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Pb 181 Nydalen, 0409 Oslo, Norway (e-mail: a.f.w.nissen@nkvts.unirand).
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Abstract

Objectives

We aimed to explore how perceived safety after terrorism is connected to views on security measures and emergency preparedness in a workplace setting.

Methods

Using a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study of ministerial employees in Norway who were targeted in a terrorist attack in 2011 (n=3344), we investigated how employees’ perceived safety at work 9 to 10 months after the attack was associated with their perceptions of whether security measures were sufficiently prioritized at work, whether there had been sufficient escape and evacuation training, and whether they were confident with evacuation procedures.

Results

We found strong evidence of increasing perceived safety at work the more employees believed security measures were sufficiently prioritized at work (partially confounded by post-traumatic stress disorder), and the better their knowledge of evacuation procedures (modified by gender and education).

Conclusions

The present study suggests that employers may enhance perceived safety at work for terror-exposed employees by showing a commitment to security measures and by ensuring employees know evacuation procedures well. More research is needed to investigate causality patterns behind the associations found in this cross-sectional study. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:805–811)

Keywords

perceived safetysecuritysecurity measuresemergency preparednessterrorism
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 10 , Issue 6 , December 2016 , pp. 805 - 811
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2016 

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