In the Hands of God: The 10 Emotional Stages of Working in High Risk Environments
Posted in: Strategy & Research
By How do you feel when you’re asked to do travel somewhere interesting but that carries a slightly higher risk of injury, kidnap or death?
I’ve run a number of studies to “lively” places, that carry with them a different risk profile than one normally encounters on corporate research. In each case I’ve needed to pull together a team that can stand up to the technical, physical and emotional rigours of the work. This is what I learned about “the ask”.
The practical aspects of planning a short (~1 month) study in higher risk environments are relatively straightforward to pull together, but many are less-unprepared for the emotional highs and lows before, during and after the field study.
Before Going In-field
1. Elation at being asked, at the potential. Nobody says no to a travel adventure.
2. Realization as information is gathered, newspaper headlines are scanned the enormity of perceived risks sink in, the worst-case scenarios mentally play out. The lows are amplified by how it is communicated to peers/friends/family during stage (1). This is when the person who initially said yes changes their mind.
3. Normalization: more nuanced media/opinions are gathered, conversations with people in the know, on the ground, a better understanding of geography, place, the risk is put into perspective, bad headlines no-longer trigger deep lows. the researcher comes to terms with the idea of what it means to be there.
4. Occasional panic attacks: things that sneak up on you: a misread headline; an idle thought; a sense of what could be lost.
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