Supervisor's Guide to Handling Critical Incidents in the Workplace

Scenario

You are a supervisor at your organization. A Critical Incident has occurred, and you are required to learn more about it. The incident will impact both you and your team of employees. As the supervisor, you will be expected to lead your team through the situation. Get ready, put your supervisor hat on, and get started!

Instructions:

1. Choose a Critical Incident Research Topic from the list below. Complete the MS Form located in eConestoga and submit for topic approval. If you would like to choose a topic not on this list, complete the MS Form and submit for my review and approval. Do not begin your research until you receive approval for your topic area.

1. New company intranet

2. Introduction of new automation in the workplace

3. Coordinating an office renovation

4. Low employee morale

5. Employee work refusal

6. Impact on Supervisors of a Labour Strike

7. Employer Health and Safety Violations

8. Harassment in the Workplace

9. Workplace Privacy concerns

10. Cell phone usage banned in the workplace

11. Budget cuts

12. Leading employees through Return to Work after a Pandemic

13. New Work from Home Policy

14. Anxiety and Depression in the workplace

15. Merger or Acquisition

16. Sharp increase in sales volume

17. Supporting ESL (English as a second language) employees

18. Downsizing (layoffs)

19. Organization moving operations to another country

20. Introducing a new computer system (used by employees in your department)

2. Research to find an article or articles on the topic you have selected. The article(s) should be based on a real-world event or based on best practice or academic research. The preference is for students to find a real-world event. Include all articles in full form (not links) in the appendix section of your report.

3. The report is to include the following:

a. Introduction Section

o Provide a complete overview of the entire report. The introduction section should clearly state the subject matter of the report, and it should explain the methods used to gather data. In explaining the methods, indicate what kinds of primary and secondary research was used in the paper. The introduction is to include a brief statement of the paper's findings and conclusions.

b. Report Content Sections

o Describe the situation or topic in detail. Use 5W+H (Who, What, Why, When, Where, How)

o What must the supervisor to do to handle the situation or event?

o Describe the short and longer-term impact(s) of the situation/topic on the role of the supervisor and his/her employees. Explain how these impacts may change the role of the supervisor. Do you view the changes to the role of the supervisor as easy, mid-range or difficult?

o What help might the supervisor need to support the required changes and from whom?