Workplace Trauma

Defining Workplace Trauma

I’ve been quietly exploring the theme of workplace trauma this year.

Trauma is a lasting response to events that are beyond our ability to cope.

I’m mindful and deeply respectful of the weight of the word trauma. We can define it at its simplest as a lasting response to events that are beyond our ability to cope. People experience deep trauma from devastating events. But we can also experience trauma from events that may not appear to have been as damaging but nevertheless exceed our ability to cope and leave a lasting, hidden mark.

Events in our past can have a greater bearing on our responses to events in the present than we are aware of.

One thing that comes through clearly in my research is that events in our past can have a greater bearing on our responses to events in the present than we are aware of. This is because while we move past the original event, very often, our emotional and psychological response - our ‘survivor voice,’ if you will - remains the dominant inner voice when we face risk. It’s a lingering shadow of our fear response to old traumas.

What's getting in the way??

Recently, my interest was triggered by the question, “What’s getting in the way?” It arose during some client work where I observed that the hesitation to act was on a personal, not functional, level. It was evident that we couldn't solve the problem just by focusing on the technical aspects; we had to engage with the human dynamics at play.

It directly impacts the health of the organization itself.

While people are expected to fulfill their job responsibilities, simply pushing through when there are reservations on the human level doesn’t help an organization grow in the long run. In fact, it serves to throttle the creativity, innovation, and levels of engagement that people feel in their jobs. The same characteristics that enable companies to innovate in the face of uncertainty and adversity. This directly impacts the health of the organization itself. And these issues can persist when employees move to new workplaces, even if we’re now in a ‘psychologically safe’ space. Can you think of companies in your industry whose culture is known to be challenging? What happens when people from that company join yours?

Supporting people accelerates business objectives

This post highlights workplace trauma. There are plenty of effective and fast ways to respond to it. And they are fast—literally and significantly faster than all the delays attributed to process and method that will be incurred because we don’t engage on the human level. When we overlook the human element, we risk pursuing the wrong strategy altogether. It's that simple and impactful.

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Next

I’ve distilled my experience as an employee and in working with clients into the strapline, “Where people thrive, organizations prosper.” The work becomes one-part innovation and one-part humanistic.?

They absolutely and undeniably go hand in hand.?

I’ll be exploring these themes more going forward and welcome your input, comments, and thoughts as we go.

I am not an expert in any way on the theme of trauma. I can refer excellent coaching colleagues if any reader is interested.

Our mental health is critical. Please look after yourself out there.

As always, thank you for reading and engaging.

John