Negosentro.com | The Impact of Trauma on Employees and What Your Role Is as an Employer | 2020 was tough on all of us in one way or another. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major source of stress for people around the world as we deal with sickness and a new way of life.
On top of that, racial tensions and questions about law enforcement policies have created a divide among Americans. While many may be able to handle and live through these tough times as best as they can, for others, these scenarios can be a source of stress and great trauma.
When a person is heavily affected by trauma, it can make their lives unbearable, and it can make showing up to work each day even harder. As an employer, you need to take the mental health of your staff seriously and create a positive work environment that will help your employees feel safe and appreciated.
By doing so, you are not only showing that you care about them as people, but you could also improve their productivity and help your business in the process. Let’s look at trauma and how management can create a caring work atmosphere.
Understanding Trauma
The first step that your company needs to take to help your employees deal with trauma is to understand the potential signs and causes of these negative feelings. In many cases, a traumatic life event like the death of a family member, a natural disaster, or witnessing an act of violence can trigger an employee into an immediate traumatic tailspin.
However, it is important to remember that trauma doesn’t always require a current event. Instead, a new trigger or reminder can bring them back to the dark days of old, along with those feelings of anxiety or depression.
For example, an employee could have faced a health scare as a child where they got very sick and were in the hospital for an extended length of time. Though they survived and are healthy now, the arrival of the deadly coronavirus could bring back the traumatic feelings that they had as a child, and they could fall back into a dangerous depression or express their fear through anger or aggression in the workplace.
As an employer, it is important to manage your business so that you are operating through a compassionate lens and that you treat all employees equally and with respect. You never know what someone has dealt with earlier in their life.
An employee could have experienced post-traumatic stress in the past as a result of serving in the armed forces. It has been shown that minorities are more likely to experience PTSD than non-minorities, so even an unintentional case of race discrimination by a manager or coworker could bring back old feelings and trigger an episode.
This is why it is essential to have a Human Resources and management team with an open-door policy that encourages anyone with stress or depression to talk about what they are going through and what they need in order to get better. The HR team needs to listen to all upset employees and take immediate action.
The Importance of Recognizing Trauma
Recognizing and assisting employees with trauma is important because it not only creates a positive work environment but it can also reduce the negative impacts on your company’s bottom line. Although everyone deals with trauma differently, many people who do not get the help they need can fall into depression or let stress rule their life. When an employee is distracted by outside factors, they can lose sleep and energy, and that could impact the accuracy of their work.
In addition to poor performance, there are other red flags that management should look out for as well. An employee who is overly stressed or depressed will also tend to call out sick, take longer breaks and lunches, or be late to work more often than the average employee. They might also get quieter or avoid social interaction completely, which can be especially damaging if they work in a sales or customer service role.
If management fails to recognize these signs and take immediate action, the lack of production or loss of the employee could impact profits and expenses. The cost of recruiting, hiring, and training a new employee can be upwards of $4,000 per person, which could be too much for your company to take.
Instead, it is in your company’s best interest to bring in the employee and talk with them so you can understand what they need at this point in time. Even if you need to allow them extended personal time off to deal with their trauma, it will still be more cost-effective than hiring an all-new employee.
How Management Can Help
As management, you don’t have to be licensed therapists, but you can do your part to ease the burden on employees and provide helpful resources. An important step that you can take, particularly during COVID-19, is to provide educational materials and pamphlets in the break rooms or via email. Include contact information for support groups and other useful resources. Consult with the National Alliance on Mental Health and the National Institute of Mental Health; they can provide guidance and helpful information.
Management should also be careful not to overburden their staff, especially during uncertain times. Due to social distancing guidelines, many companies went to a remote workforce. An unfortunate side effect of remote work is that employees tend to work longer hours and fail to take their breaks and lunches. To help enforce a healthy work/life balance, set boundaries and working hours so your employees don’t feel extra stress during the workday.
Employers can also be more lenient as far as flexible schedules, especially if an employee comes to you with issues related to trauma. If a worker is feeling especially stressed, talk to them about their schedule and see where you can make modifications. For instance, if you can provide a later starting time in the morning so an employee can help their kids get ready for school or attend a doctor’s appointment, see what you can do to make it happen.
Also, encourage your team to take their vacation time so they can unwind and come back to work refreshed. If they are experiencing a current trauma related to their family, you can also encourage them to take their government-approved family medical leave time until they get their affairs in order.
Trauma is a tough topic to talk about, especially in the workplace. However, a manager who takes the time to understand the mental health of their employees and provides the support they need will see a more fulfilled and productive workforce.
