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Employee
Reaction to Terrorism
by Dr. Lynne
Curry
Question:
I supervise two Washington-state based employees who traveled up
to Anchorage in early September and now need to fly back to
Seattle. They just called me this morning and refused to fly,
stating that it wouldn’t be hard for a terrorist to hijack the
plane and crash it into the Valdez terminal, taking out part of
the pipeline.
They’ve worked
it out between themselves to rent a car, drive it back to Seattle,
and expect to have all their expenses reimbursed and to be paid
overtime for the extra travel days involved. They also said they
will refuse all further job assignments that involve travel.
I told them we
couldn’t afford for them to take the extra time in transit and
that they were playing into the hands of the terrorists, that if
we don’t go on as normal we let the terrorists win. They told me
they didn’t want to be brave and dead.
If I allow these
two employees to refuse all future travel, what do I tell the
other employees who will have to pick up the extra travel? What
legal rights do employers have – for example, if I order these
employees to fly and they refuse, is this insubordination? Also,
do I have to pay them the extra days of overtime if I let them
drive back?
Answer:
Before you explore your legal rights, ask yourself this question
– what kind of manager would you want to work for? A manager who
orders employees to act against their instincts or one who listens
to employees who’ve worked out a potential solution and tries to
meet them halfway? If you value these two employees, stop reacting
to their fear and start listening. Many employees don’t feel
comfortable traveling right now – some because they don’t want
to leave their families in volatile times and others because they
fear another shoe dropping.
Can you order
your employees to fly home? According to attorney Tom Van Flein,
"if travel is part of these employees’ jobs and they refuse
to travel, their manager can consider it insubordination and
potentially terminate them." Further, says Van Flein, the
employer "has the right to insist on the most economical
method of travel."
However, what
would your "my way and not the highway" approach gain
you and at what cost? What if your employees quit because you
wanted to avoid losing four days of downtime? Will your other
employees appreciate your protecting them from having to pick up
extra travel duty or consider you a class "A" jerk?
On the other
hand, if you let your employees drive home it might cost you
nothing. Given what Van Flein says, in the same way that an
employee who chooses to fly first class after his employer books
him a coach seat needs to pay the difference, your employees would
need to handle any expenses totaling more than the cost of their
plane tickets. Further, you could require that your employees take
any extra travel days as unpaid leave.
In short, don’t
waste precious energy fighting the wrong enemy. Work with your
employees, as we all figure out how to regain our balance in a
world in which some employees fear boarding a plane.
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