Improving citizen preparedness through employee disaster preparedness promotion in the workplace

Abstract

Citizen preparedness is a vital component of national preparedness, yet national surveys indicate only a small minority of citizens have completed basic individual and household preparedness actions. Workplace wellness promotion programs have made positive strides toward the influence of human behavior and are expanding in their scope of relevant issues. This study explores lessons learned from workplace wellness promotion programs through a review of relevant literature in citizen disaster preparedness promotion and workplace wellness promotion as related to four main sub-areas: 1) psycho-sociology of preparedness behavior and behavior change; 2) interrelationships among the workplace, employees, and the community; 3) rationale, motivation, and barriers to the concept of the workplace as a venue to impact behavior change; and 4) identification of promising practices that can be replicated in future strategies. Research results are synthesized in the creation of a framework that can be applied by organizations to integrate household disaster preparedness as an integral component of a workplace wellness promotion program. The overall conclusion of this study is that the workplace is a promising venue for the dissemination of citizen disaster preparedness messaging and the facilitation of household preparedness actions when identified smart practices are applied.