Business Leadership in Bioterrorism Preparedness

The workplace has been the primary target of terrorism in the United States. The events of 9/11, the anthrax attacks of 2001, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the 1993 World Trade Center underscores the fact that terrorism has occurred where and when people work. The goal of terrorism is to erode our sense of national security, disrupt the continuity of society and destroy social capital—morale, cohesion and shared values. In taking a proactive role to protect their organization’s security, business continuity and employee health, business leaders should be aware of the following: 1) the workplace is a newly recognized environment for preparedness 2) the workplace has existing resources to facilitate preparedness 3) the workplace will encounter resistance to prepare 4) the workplace can reframe preparedness to promote resiliency, business continuity and social cohesion.