Facing the storm: Natural disasters trigger need for employer preparation

Extreme natural disasters—fires, floods, hurricanes, and more—increasingly dominate news coverage. But the full effect of such tragedies outlasts the headlines. And it’s not just fires and storms. Extreme heat events also threaten the health and safety of people all around the world.

Employers are certainly not immune. In fact, the increasing number and severity of natural disasters make it more essential for employers to develop plans that will get them back in business and enable them to help employees recover when disaster strikes.

Making plans

Dangerous weather and other natural disasters often shut down operations, but even after reopening, businesses can expect absenteeism and turnover because employees will continue to suffer a disaster’s effects. Also, when employees do manage to return to work, they often will be less productive because of worries about their future.

Employers can cope with the possibility of natural disasters by developing business continuity plans. Writing for Forbes in September 2022, Holly Welch Stubbing—CEO of E4E Relief, a company helping businesses respond to crises—advised creating a people-focused plan that includes evacuation planning, data storage and security, internal crisis communications, organizational recovery, and a return-to-work strategy.