PTSD IN CORPORATE AMERICA

PTSD In Corporate America

Introduction

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder, which is common with people who have witnessed or gone through life threatening situations such as natural disasters, armed conflicts, wars, serious accidents, violent personal assaults or others. People who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are likely to relive those terrible memories through nightmares or flashbacks, which may also result in loss of sleep, detachment and estrangement. In the worse situations, PTSD disables the ability of individuals to create or maintain healthy interpersonal relationships with their family and friends. They quit employment, go into isolation and suffer through substance abuse, which leads to a downward spiral trapping them into the endless sea of problems.

Much of the literature regarding PTSD is focused on PTSD in war veterans. Nevertheless, during the past few years, researchers have identified the incidence of PTSD amongst employees that are working in life threatening situations and emergency services. However, there is a growing realization amongst experts and academicians that PTSD is not something restricted to war veterans or people working in high risk jobs but the civilians and even the employees working in the corporate sector also remain at high risk of suffering from this disease. Research suggests that the most common cause of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is witnessing or going through a bad traffic accident.

Sonnenberg, & Audero (2010) identify the fact that according to a study conducted in the year 2010, 8-12 percent of the American population remains at the risk of suffering through PTSD at some point in their lives. Corporate sector employees might suffer through PTSD due to work related factors, but they are more likely to suffer from PTSD due to going through or witnessing tragic experiences, death of someone close, natural disaster, violent assault, robberies and other tragic accidents.

Claim 1

Increasing Prevalence of PTSD in Corporate Sector Employees

There are two reasons behind the growing incidence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder amongst corporate sector employees. First, many war veterans are returning from overseas and as they try to assimilate into the local population and adjust to their new lives, many of them have searched for employment in the corporate sector. These war veterans, as indicated by a plethora of research available, are at a great risk of suffering from PTSD, at least during the first few years or months of employment, if not during the rest of their lifetime. Second, many corporate sector employees may go through or witness events that may end up opening the doors of PTSD for them. Furthermore, with increased prevalence of workplace bullying, stressful schedules and lifestyles, increased violence and crime rates and absence of work life balance is further likely to create situations where they might find themselves suffering through PTSD. Therefore, now more than ever, there is a need for employers to develop and craft policies that could curtail the negative impacts of PTSD on employee health and productivity.

Reason 1

It is an open secret that women, all over ...