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A Day in the Office

The terrorist attack at the World Trade Center had a devastating impact on the hundreds of companies it housed. Companies like Morgan Stanley and AON have had to set up new offices, they are missing employees and countless work-related documents have been lost. The employees themselves must find a way to carry on with their daily business routines. While offices would normally buzz with the talk of the upcoming football season or big company events at this time of the year, the attacks determined that there could be no business as usual.

Many downtown offices have relocated and are running their operations from midtown locations, or from areas surrounding New York City. "After that day, I had no idea where I was going to work. I was even questioning whether I would still have a job to return to," said employee Jack Chan of Credit Suisse First Boston, a financial services firm that formerly resided at 5 World Trade Center. Many employees felt similarly displaced. Janet Chung of Deutsche Bank said, "It's so surreal. One day I'm at the computer tracking field reports, and the next my whole office is somewhere in a pile of rubble. I didn't know where we would go after the building was destroyed."

Company officials and administrators faced the challenge of organizing their employees into new offices with limited resources and space. "We leased office space on Third Avenue, and it took us weeks to configure a set-up for each floor," said a supervisor from AON, who could not disclose his name because of company policy. "Each department has its own needs and we worked around the clock to plan as organized for a return as soon as possible for our New York employees. So we had to ask people not to come in until they were contacted. Executive management, HR, the legal department and the information technology department were the ones we needed to set up first."

For countless employees, there is no escape from the tragedy. While other New York City offices are finding an easier time to move on, companies that were once at the World Trade Center are having difficulty in doing so. Chung says she hears her colleagues talking about the people they have lost on a daily basis. "It's a slow healing process, and for a lot of us, we need to talk about it. It would seem cruel and unnatural if we didn't," she explains. Many are still attending funerals of coworkers or friends. Most companies offer grief counseling for their employees, or for family members who had been victimized by the attack. Some have scheduled informational meetings on a weekly basis to provide employees with structure and a sense of well being. Investment professionals said most of the people affected by the disruptions to the economy and financial markets are carrying on as best they can, but everyone knows someone missing or confirmed dead.

Many employees returning to work were struck by the eerie silence that hangs in the office. Chang says, "You don't see people gathering around the water cooler to talk about upcoming football games or weekend plans. It's quieter in the office and sometimes I feel like it would be inappropriate to laugh or crack a joke like I used to." Personalities have changed to adapt to a new heaviness that hangs in the air. An actuary from AON says, "Everything has changed. I'm still hearing about memorial services being held for missing coworkers. And I haven't had a good night's sleep ever since that day."

The ambitions and outlooks of employees have also been altered. Employees are not as consumed with the petty details of life as they once were. "I used to obsess with the prospects of moving up in this place. And not that I'm not interested in getting promoted, but it's just that there are more important things, like taking care of family and friends," says Chung. Others have questioned whether or not to remain at their present job or even their present profession.

Employers have also changed their attitude. Many expect that productivity will be lower and their main concern is the well being of their employees. Companies have provided forums for employees to vent their thoughts and emotions and to provide education on dealing with traumatizing events. "We can't expect anyone to return to work with unchanged attitudes and emotions," says another AON supervisor. "We're all human and our responsibility as employers is to help provide them with a sense of security and to normalize stress reactions. We anticipate that they will get distracted or find the need to take personal days off."

The big question is whether or not peoples' jobs have changed to a substantial degree. Employees are still faced with the same responsibilities, and their job descriptions have not changed drastically. Most agree that it's not so much the job descriptions that have changed, but the working environment. Chang explains that while he is still responsible for his previous clients, he's had to take on some extras. "There's not a big difference. I'm still doing the same thing. Even before all this happened, there were times when situations got so intense that you had to expect and handle anything. That's what it's like in investment banking."

Security has been beefed up in all locations, regardless of whether or not a company has relocated its offices. Employees are required to carry their ID tags at all times and are even required to do random bag checks. The tighter security has provided a sense of safety to the workers. However, despite what changes have taken place in various companies, in response to the disastrous event, one thing is for certain: employees are determined to get back to business, and they are demonstrating this resolve one step at a time.

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Related Links:
Morgan Stanley
Credit Suisse First Boston
Deutsche Bank
AON
CNN

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