Security Blanket Terrorists changed your employees. It's up to you to provide the nurturing.

Everyone was moved by the terrorist attacks in New York andWashington. But September 11 was a knee-bending, one-two punch foremployees already reeling in a softening economy beset by worthlessstock options and a climbing unemployment rate. The attacks--whichoccurred so publicly and at one of America's best-knownbusiness addresses--have left many employees re-examining thereasons why they do what they do for a living, and at what cost.Since September 11, time off the clock has taken on new meaning.Suddenly, not letting employees telecommute or leave an hour earlyto watch their children play T-ball can make you look less thanhuman.

In the post-September 11 workplace, "work-life balance isno longer seen as a dream but as a right," says RichardDonkin, a workplace historian and author of Blood, Sweat & Tears: The Evolution ofWork (Texere). Roughly 82 percent of 1,800 employeessurveyed last fall by Aon Consulting's Loyalty Institute saidthey are reassessing their priorities and trying to devote moretime to their personal lives. The brass rings that employees usedto value in exchange for long workdays--money and fancytitles--don't mean as much as they did just one year ago.According to a Society for Human Resource Management survey doneafter the attacks, some workers are turning down promotionsthey've already accepted, and employees seem less worried aboutgoing beyond the call of duty to prove themselves--even thoughunemployment is at a four-year high.

"People are looking for a way to do their jobs, but withless intensity," says Pat Wiklund of Wiklund &Associates, a Mountain View, California, consulting firm. Shesees the effects of September 11 as more than just a temporarymalaise in the wake of unimaginable tragedy. The events have causeda permanent shift in how employees feel about work, awakeningfeelings that existed all along but have suddenly come to thesurface. "Our world view has changed," says Wiklund."What was motivating employees before all of this came downmay not fit right now."

In a post-September 11 world, you'll have to rethink how youmanage employees, because the bells and whistles you're usingmay not work as well anymore. Employees are testing your words andactions, looking past the entrepreneur to the person. Some surveyssuggest that businesses aren't exactly acing the exam: When1,800 U.S. workers were surveyed following the attacks, they gavetheir employers an average grade of B- in meeting their needs. Whenasked to rate how their employers were dealing with employee stressand anxiety, employees gave them a C+.

If traditional brass rings such as promotions and salariesdon't mean as much anymore, what do employees want? Thenew brass ring can be summed up this way: a sense of securitycombined with the opportunity to do good. "Two years ago, workwas about making money. Suddenly, it's about making adifference," says Steve Rothberg, CEO of Minneapolis-basedcareer Web site CollegeRecruiter.com. What's going on,particularly for many 20 and 30-something dot-commers, is a form ofpersonal cleansing. "They've done their selfish, greedything; [now they] want to do something for the betterment ofsociety," says Rothberg, who is seeing this trend in the jobseekers who use his site. In fact, more than 65 percent ofcompanies in the SHRM survey say they see a "kinder,gentler" employee emerging since the attacks.

This new sense of calling may explain the sudden rise inapplications for government jobs since September 11. The publicsector took a beating over the last five years as it struggled tocompete with the compensation packages being offered in the privatesector. Within one month of the attacks, however, the FAA receivedmore than 20,000 applications for its federal air marshal program,and college students are doing something they haven't done fora long time: cruising government recruiting booths on campus. Tocompete, your company's recruiting and retention message has topick up the new buzzwords--"low turnover," "nolayoffs," "stability" and"profitability"--while also letting employees know howthey can make a difference that goes beyond the four walls of yourcompany. "Working with cool technology to create a Web sitethat nobody goes to is not making a difference," Rothbergsays. "Two years ago, people thought it was."

You'll also need to ask your employees what motivates andinspires them because chances are, it's different now. Go outof your way to reveal the person behind the entrepreneur. "Ifwe could tell leaders anything right now, it's to be visible,show that you have feelings, encourage some dialogue and let peoplesee your vision and core values," says Christine MocklerCasper, president of Methuen, Massachusetts-based Communication, Motivation& Management Inc. and author of From Now on with Passion: A Guide to EmotionalIntelligence (Cypress House). "That's thechallenge facing all organizations."