Disaster-induced employee evacuation / Thomas E. Drabek.

Includes bibliographical references.

1. Introduction -- 2. Theoretical and behavioral contexts -- 3. Warning patterns -- 4. Evacuation behavior -- 5. Event variations -- 6. Organizational size variations -- 7. Organizational mission variations -- 8. Predicting employee responses and concerns -- 9. Policy gaps -- 10. Employee disaster evacuations.

When people are at work and they learn that disaster is imminent, what are their responses? Through interviews with 406 employees of 118 business and 23 emergency managers, the author created the first database whereby this question could be explored comparatively. Following seven disasters the author doucmented employee information sources, judegments, and actions, he discovered that many business were ill-prepared to provide the guidance expected or needed. As a consequence many employees experienced heightened stress at work because of inadequate managerial leadership and acute tension because their bosses failed to appreciate their family concerns. Collectively, these findings pose an alarm for business owners; invest in disaster preparedness or risk the cost that will accompany the collective dissastisfaction of your employees.