76% of Canadians report having experienced a traumatic event in their lifetime. This means that the majority of Canadians could be living with the aftereffects of trauma. And these aftereffects can have a huge impact on an individual’s ability to be effective, productive, and successful at work.
In this article, I will share findings about what trauma is, how it impacts the individual, and some suggestions on how to create a trauma-informed workplace.
Trauma is defined as an experience that compromises a person’s sense of safety. This can be a direct experience, or the witnessing of such an event. Developmental trauma occurs between the ages of 0-25 and it can continue to effect an individual for the rest of their life, especially if left untreated. Some types of traumatic events are one-time occurrences and others are repeated events.
There are many different types of traumatic experiences. Some are fairly obvious to most people, and others can go unnoticed – even by the individual who has experienced them.
Some examples of trauma include: bullying, community violence, physical, emotional or sexual abuse, a natural disaster, an accident, divorce, or a sudden death among loved ones. This list is not exhaustive by any means, but it is a starting point to understand events that could lead to trauma for an individual.
When it comes to trauma that is experienced in childhood, what’s important to note is that the child’s perception of the event is as important as what actually happened. Therefore, what we as adults think of as benign can register as hostile or life-threatening for a child. So with the example of physical abuse, an adult might think that because a child was not severely harmed, that the physical punishment didn’t register as life-threatening. The child might however experience the event as traumatic. Individuals with trauma are more prone to health problems such as: depression, anxiety, memory problems, nervous system dysregulation, chronic pain, autoimmune disorders, obesity and heart disease. Individuals with trauma are 2.5 times more likely to experience ongoing anxiety.
Due to the persistent challenges related to trauma, these individuals are also more likely to succumb to unhealthy behaviours such as smoking, heavy drinking, and not exercising which can lead to further health problems.
It’s not difficult to see how the ongoing impacts of trauma could affect someone’s abilities at work and create challenges in their career. In order for your workplace to be trauma-informed, it is not necessary for individuals living with trauma to disclose this information. A trauma-informed workplace simply recognizes each individual’s need for physical and emotional safety, including their perceptions of their safety in the workplace.
In order to become a trauma-informed workplace, the organization should reduce or eliminate organizational stressors such as bullying, threats, harassment, betrayal, maliciousness, extreme isolation, chronic pressure, unresolved conflict, uncertainty, and downsizing or fear of unemployment. It is important to note that even though these stressors will affect everyone negatively, they will affect individuals with trauma more intensely and impede their ability to perform more drastically. When it is not possible to eliminate these stressors, situations should be approached with more transparency and empathy to reduce their impact.
Most workplaces have policies and procedures around these organizational stressors, but they are not designed in a way that allows an employee to feel safe as they bring these issues to light. This defeats the whole purpose of having these policies in place. An honest look at how these policies are applied and enforced will help to ensure that they are effective in creating a trauma-informed environment.
Removing physical stressors is also very important when creating a trauma-informed workplace. Strategies around these stressors include:
• Reducing or eliminating excessive noise
• Designing a more peaceful, and less chaotic environment
• Giving employees a sense of control over their space
• Eliminating any potential issues that could impede physical safety
• Eliminating harsh or flashing lights
• Ensuring that the temperature in the environment is not extremely hot or cold
• Allowing employees the option to work from a different location when there is construction taking place
Beyond all of these suggestions, I think that a trauma-informed workplace is one that is responsive to the needs and concerns of its employees. You might not have the funds available to change the lighting in your office, or give your employees more space to work. However, when an employee confides in you and lets you know about challenges they are experiencing – take them seriously. See if there is some way you can compromise to meet their needs. A great example of this is allowing the employee to work from home once or a few times per week. This will give them the opportunity to have complete control over their environment and allow them to increase their feeling of physical and emotional safety. This will allow them to work more effectively.
I believe that the simple act of having honest conversations, and listening and responding empathetically to your employees can go a long way to improve the workplace environment for everyone and allow people to be more effective in their roles.
Emilia Stypulkowska helps people take control of their careers by helping them navigate challenges, restore their energy, and land their dream job. She can be reached at coach.emilias@gmail.com
Thank you to CANNEXUS20: National Career Development Conference run by CERIC for allowing Hilborn a media pass to cover your conference. CERIC is a charitable organization that advances education and research in career counselling and career development. In addition to hosting Cannexus, Canada’s largest bilingual Career Development Conference, CERIC also:
