We’ve had some real tragic events take place. I am riveted by the depths of human behavior. When I see these tragedies I undoubtedly think of the victims and the families and then my HR mind kicks in and I wonder about some of the other victims and costs. I wonder as a corporation, how do you react to tragedy?

Colorado

This is a horrific event. After reading countless articles and watching a ton of media coverage my mind began to wonder to business side of things. And since I am a HR nerd I immediately thought about the grief counselors and EAP’s needed for the workers of the theater.  I also thought about the people in the theater that night; people who lost their lives, their families and friends, you had people who were wounded, and you had people who witnessed the events but escaped harm’s way. One of the survivors has no health insurance and he was hit in the eye by a bullet, now his hospital bills are estimated at $2 million.

Think of the thousands, of people affected by the actions of this deeply disturb man. If you were in that theater and if you survived do you think you’d be at work the next day? Probably not, and those employers need to be sensitive to that.

Think about the owners and operators of the movie theater. They are going to need new safety training, security and probably new operating procedures. And certainly someone is going to sue. Blame has to be assigned.

Consider all the movie theaters around the country, some have cancelled midnight showings and others have beefed up security.  I saw an interview on the news and this man said he watched the same movie but he was not as engulfed in the movie as he normally would have been. He was more aware of his surroundings. Others have said they will never go to the movies again.

Think about the movie studio, Warner Bros. Pictures, they canceled some of the international premieres, but more importantly they are working with the Colorado District Attorney to offer some financial assistance the victims. Nice move.

Thousands of lives changed forever.

Think about the 1^st responders.

Thank goodness for them.