Every job can lead to stress. How people cope with that stress can be influenced by many factors. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employs a diverse staff that includes emergency responders, border patrol agents, federal air marshals, and policy analysts. These employees may be exposed to traumatic situations and disturbing information as part of their jobs. DHS is concerned that long-term exposure to stressors may reduce individual resilience, negatively affect employees' well-being, and deteriorate the department's level of operation readiness.

To explore DHS workforce resilience, the Institute of Medicine hosted two workshops in September and November 2011. The September workshop focused on DHS's operational and law enforcement personnel, while the November workshop concentrated on DHS policy and program personnel with top secret security clearances. The workshop brought together an array of experts from various fields including resilience research, occupation health psychology, and emergency response. Building a Resilient Workforce: Opportunities for the Department of Homeland Security: Workshop Summary:

1. Defines workforce resilience and its benefits such as increased operational readiness and long-term cost savings for the specified population;
2. Identifies work-related stressors faced by DHS workers, and gaps in current services and programs;
3. Prioritizes key areas of concern; and
4. Identifies innovative and effective worker resilience programs that could potentially serve as models for relevant components of the DHS workforce.

The report presents highlights from more than 20 hours of presentations and discussions from the two workshops, as well as the agendas and a complete listing of the speakers, panelists, and planning committee members.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• PLANNING COMMITTEE ON WORKFORCE RESILIENCY PROGRAMS
• Reviewers
• Acknowledgments
• Acronyms
• 1. Introduction and Overview
  • ORGANIZATION OF THIS SUMMARY
  • BACKGROUND
  • RESILIENCE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
• 2. Overview of the Department of Homeland Security Resilience Issues and Programs
  • AN OVERVIEW OF DHS RESILIENCE PROGRAMS
  • DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY’S HUMAN CAPITAL FRAMEWORK
  • UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECT OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESSORS ON OPERATIONAL READINESS
  • COMMUNICATING THE SECURITY CLEARANCE PROCESS AND REQUIREMENTS
  • RESILIENCE ISSUES IN PROGRAM AND POLICY PERSONNEL PANEL DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 3. An Operational Definition of Resilience
  • DEFINING RESILIENCE FOR COMMUNITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS
  • THE RESILIENT ORGANIZATION
  • INTEGRATING RESILIENCE INTO HEALTH AND SAFETY
  • DEFINING LONG-TERM RESILIENCE PANEL DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 4. Factors Influencing Workforce Effectiveness and Resilience
  • SLEEP AND PERFORMANCE
  • HIGH-RELIABILITY ORGANIZATIONS AND COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS
  • ORGANIZATIONAL AND CULTURAL CHANGES FOR EMPLOYEE WORK–FAMILY EFFECTIVENESS
  • TEAMS UNDER STRESS: CUES, CONSEQUENCES, AND CORRECTIONS
  • LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS AND RESILIENCE
  • WELLNESS AND RESILIENCE IN THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY
  • CHAIRMAN’S TOTAL FORCE FITNESS FRAMEWORK
  • FACTORS INFLUENCING WORKFORCE EFFECTIVENESS AND RESILIENCE PANEL DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 5 Resilience Programs and Interventions
  • COMPREHENSIVE SOLDIER FITNESS
  • RESILIENCE RESEARCH IN THE MILITARY
  • FIRST-RESPONDER RESEARCH AND WORKFORCE RESILIENCE
  • RESILIENCY SCIENCE INSTITUTES
  • RESILIENCE PROGRAMS PANEL DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 6 Leveraging Existing Services and Programs to Support Resilience
  • WELLNESS PROGRAMS
  • EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
  • LEVERAGING EXISTING SERVICES AND PROGRAMS PANEL DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 7 Understanding Individual and Organizational Resilience and Performance Measures
  • ASSESSMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL STRESSOR AND RESILIENCE FACTORS IN OPERATIVE AND NONOPERATIVE FIRST-RESPONDER PERSONNEL
  • MEASURES OF EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
  • ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND MEASUREMENT: LESSONS LEARNED FROM 40 YEARS OF FEDEX EMPLOYEE SURVEY
  • UNDERSTANDING INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL RESILIENCE AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES PANEL DISCUSSION
  • REFERENCES
• 8 Perspectives on Priorities and Next Steps
  • KEY COMMENTS FROM THE SEPTEMBER WORKSHOP
  • PERSPECTIVES OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY COMPONENTS ON RESILIENCE
  • CLOSING COMMENTS
• A WORKFORCE RESILIENCY: A WORKSHOP SERIES
• B Workforce Resiliency Programs: A Workshop Series: Planning Committee Biographies
• C Speaker Biographies
• D Standing Committee on Health Threats Resilience

Rapporteurs: Heather M. Colvin and Rachel M. Taylor.

This study was supported by Contract No. HSHQDC-08-C-00111 between the National Academy of Sciences and Department of Homeland Security. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.

Suggested citation:

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2012. Building a resilient workforce: Opportunities for the Department of Homeland Security: Workshop summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.