The September 11th attack
Have you noticed kindness at work?

USA Today

For some, it's a kinder, gentler workplace. E-mail messages begin with pleasantries, squabbles are forgotten, managers are concerned about the emotional welfare of their employees.

Others have been so moved by the Sept. 11 tragedy that they're grappling with fundamental questions about their priorities — rethinking career paths, cutting back on grueling schedules, or deciding to pursue work that might pay less but seem more meaningful.

A dentist who'd debated laying off staff now has decided to find other ways to save money. A politician dropped out of Florida's race for governor, citing the terrorist attacks. A candidate debating a run for the Senate decided that now isn't the time to raise money. And in California, young workers who once talked of dot-com millions now are talking about going to war.

"It makes you pause and think about work, especially in Silicon Valley, where everything has been so excessive about business. People are saying, 'Is it worth it?"' said Wes Raffel, a general partner at Palo Alto, Calif.-based Advanced Technology Ventures. "Everybody is re-evaluating what's important in work and life. It's a very topical conversation at almost every gathering."

Grief counselors called in to help workers deal with the emotional aftermath said they've been surprised by the number of employees who want to talk instead about the career choices they've made.

Clergy members said they're fielding similar questions. Even chief executive officers said some of their employees are talking more earnestly about work-life balance, mortality and other questions once considered taboo in the office.

"We're seeing it big time," said Richard Chaifetz, CEO of Chicago-based employee assistance provider Com Psych. "The event de-emphasized what most people value, the money and the luxuries. People are questioning what's really important; they're questioning work. It's happening across the board."

More than 65 percent of companies polled said employees will be more caring toward one another as a result of the attack, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management and technology and research company eePulse.

Survey results

• Profit-making. Some employers said they're questioning the emphasis that corporate America puts on making money. David Blende, a San Francisco-based dentist, is reconsidering laying off some staff.

"Instead, we've decided to see how we can save money by tightening our belts and working a little harder," he said. "At a moment when we had been looking at cutting back, we've decided to look at them as a resource instead."

• Working less. Employees in some cases are less concerned about putting in face time, making deadlines and getting on the fast track — despite even the mounting job insecurity wrought by the economic downturn.

Katherine Goldman, a senior creative director at a New York-based communications agency, said a colleague told her he was leaving in the middle of the workday just because he felt like having a cannoli.

The need to be with family and worry less about time at the office, Goldman said, is a feeling she also relates to.

"Now, I'm not sticking around until 7 p.m. There's no reason," Goldman said. "There's also a lot more humanity in offices these days, a caring about people as people. We've also refocused in that way."

• More dedication. For some, the terrorist attacks have fueled a desire to work even harder in an effort to help keep the economy strong or cope with feelings of sadness. Others are finding new meaning in the work they do.

"I've come back with a renewed vigor," said Tami Bhaumik, marketing director at Palo Alto-based ComVentures, a venture capital firm. "I refuse to be taken down. There has never been a more critical time to be sure the companies we invest in succeed. I came in pounding tables, saying, 'Let's go — let's do it better than ever before."'

• New career choices. Managers reported that some job candidates have canceled interviews, citing the terrorist attacks as a reason they were no longer interested in specific jobs. Others have turned down hard-won promotions that may have involved more work or travel.

Allen Salikof, CEO of Cleveland-based Management Recruiters International, said the attacks caused an employee who'd just been promoted to have second thoughts.

"She went to her boss the next day and said she didn't want the promotion," said Salikof. "She had really wanted it before. People are saying maybe it's not so important to go for that brass ring."

Response predictable

Many said such a response is not unexpected, since the attacks happened in workplaces, and warnings of future threats make many workers uneasy. Experts said reaction to a trauma can include a change in belief systems.

Many have been deeply touched. Nearly 80 percent of Americans said they have shown or will show more affection than normal to their loved ones since the attack, according to a Gallup Poll.

Nearly 65 percent say religion is now very important in their lives. Typically, that number has averaged 58 percent.

"Any trauma has a way of getting people to focus on their deepest needs and priorities," said Rick Block, a rabbi in Cleveland who said members of his temple increasingly are talking about work-and-life balance since the attacks. "This has people talking about the most basic issues in their lives. It's a deepening of a reflection of what life is all about. People think, 'What do I want to accomplish? What do I want to leave behind?"'

For Bryce Eberhart, the terrorists took the life of his friend but left him more determined to draw meaning from his own career choices. That friend was Mark Bingham, a passenger on Flight 93 who called his mother from the flight and is believed to have been among those who fought with the hijackers.

"It's such a balance to take it all in, the reality of 'I can't talk to my friend anymore,"' said Eberhart, at San Francisco-based PlanetOut Partners, a media and services company for the gay community. "This strengthens my resolve to do something I believe in. All of us are looking at the aspects of our lives; everyone has ended up working a little harder."

Refocused values

Some said the terrorist attacks are prompting many to exalt the can-do American work attitude; others said it's raising doubts about materialism and career success at the expense of family. Some employers said they expect more employees to ask to work at home or scale back hours in the weeks and months ahead.

It's an effect being felt from businesses to public office.

Pete Peterson dropped out of the Florida race for governor. The former ambassador to Vietnam told reporters that he was profoundly affected by the attacks and felt he could do more for the country by using his skills in global diplomacy.

In Virginia, retired Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, who had been considering a run next year as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate, decided not to launch a campaign because she felt it wasn't appropriate to raise funds in light of the attacks.

Other political leaders are reconsidering the time to devote to work, family and service.

"This has encouraged me to think about the time I devote to my political life, my work life, my kids and my family," said Ron Klein, a Democratic state senator in Florida. "You realize life is very fragile. Something like this makes your work seem very small. It makes everything very proportional."

It has touched business leaders. Starbucks President Orin Smith said he's never been prouder of his employees than he is now, after seeing them devote time to aid volunteers in the rescue efforts.

And it has touched the entertainment community, which banded together for a televised benefit.

It has touched even younger workers, who have enjoyed such economic prosperity fueled by the technology boom that some had expected to be millionaires before the age of 30. Now some Generation Xers are saying they may be going to war instead.

"I've asked people if they'd go to war. A lot of people I've talked to are willing to go, for something they believe in," said Dolores Suarez, 25, who works in interior design in New York. "This has made us realize that you never know. People have not stopped talking about it. It's made me question all the things I thought I strongly believed in."