OVERVIEW

According to Anna Hahn, Crisis Program Director of the Sexual Assault Response Center, one of three females and one of four males was sexually assaulted before the age of sixteen. (see: www.RAINN.org ). The number of adults raised as children in homes disrupted by alcoholism is equally disturbing . Bankruptcy filings are at an all-time high. Alcohol and drug abuse are on the increase. Within a few years , it is estimated that nearly 60% of adults will be primary caretakers of their grandchildren. Divorce statistics are escalating, with the current rate being 50% of all first marriages ending in divorce and 78% of second marriages ending in divorce (D. Mitchell, 2004). Thousands of young people are engaged in wars overseas, and the looming threat of terrorism fills much of television news air time. Advertisements for alcohol, antidepressants, erectile dysfunction and female hormone replacement products promise a life of perpetual ease and happiness. Contrary to airbrushed images of happily-ever-after, sometimes life is hard, messy, and emotional. Real people come to work each day dragging their emotional experiences with them.

Managers who (contrary to some popular notions) are human also, get caught up in the frenzy between their own emotions and those of others under their direction. Mangers work between the people who make the work happen and the people who make the rules. Working in this location, for a brave soul, is an amazing place to be. Management at its best is awesome work. But not everyone is cut out for such exhilarating and extreme daily pressure. Managers must juggle the money issues of a competitive bottom-line and the daily emotional feelings of their staff. They must see that tasks are accomplished and that people are comfortable in doing so. Once managers decide to be managers, they require good equipment to handle the job. Good management, a bit like juggling bowling balls and feathers, is a great trick if you can do it.

Real stories from real managers inspired this book. Creating a Spin Free Workplace was originally a training program developed as a response to managers needing something between HR's good intentions, EAP's 4-6-session available referrals, out of house counseling , faddish tricks, managerial -psychobabble trends, and a magic wand. Managers needed tools, and they needed them immediately. They came to workshops and trainings and demanded practical tools that they could use the next day when they faced the dragons and demons at work. The original program was field- tested successfully with professional first responders, office secretaries, administrative professionals, physicians, hospitals , dental offices, bereavement specialists, retail managers, mental health professionals, security and terrorist experts, coroners , office managers, teachers , large corporations and small business owners . Managers wanted an active process that worked. Developing a process that combined good research, traditional mental health theories, concepts from clinical Psychotraumatology, critical incident stress management (CISM) theories and practices, international and national disaster services models, applied psychology and contemporary business theory was, at first, a daunting concept.

When managers took some of their traditional and contemporary models and added the ideas from the workshops presented in this book, they started testing and trying the tools that they redesigned for use in their companies. When they added a dash of their own common sense and creativity they felt empowered and well-grounded in science, research, theory and application. They still had to deal with exactly the same issues, but the were now acting like fearless warriors in the face of an interesting challenge, instead of hapless and hopeless victims. The managers began creating their own personalized toolkits for survival. They began to teach others how to survive. They were leaders and mentors now. Moreover, their bosses wrote letters of gratitude. Even several years after a consultation, CEO's would make a point to express "how far they had all come" since learning that emotions were not necessarily an enemy of the workplace.

The level and flexibility of any training model, including this one, must be structured to fit your specific organizational need and should appeal to all strata of individuals and employment situations. There is no standardized, universal, one- size -fits-all model. The result of establishing an Emotional Continuity Management policy should be system-wide stability that lends itself to continuity of productivity. Procedures and theories, tools and trainings should support collective or group cohesion regardless of what emotionally charged event that happens, small or catastrophic. It should support individuals who are different and companies that are different. Managers should take what they like from this collection of ideas and leave the rest. They should read, dip and skim as much information as they can from other writers and workshops. They should become consummate consumers of products designed to manage emotions. There are good people and bad people selling all sorts of products in all sorts of packages and you are the only one who really knows what will work in your company.