'Trauma-informed' is a phrase that’s increasingly being used, but what does this mean in practical steps that leaders, managers, HR professionals, lawyers and colleagues supporting one another need to take?
Research studies have long established that workplace incivility, bullying and harassment is a traumatic experience for people affected by this unacceptable behaviour.
It’s self-evident that – at the extreme end of this continuum – any form of sexual harm is a particularly traumatic incident.
People leading organisations have a responsibility and – in an increasing number of countries – a legal duty to prevent and address psychosocial harm.
But to what extent does the way organisations respond to these kind of incidents actually exacerbate the harm caused to people who’ve already been traumatised by unacceptable workplace behaviour?
Tanya Hallett knows all about trauma, both from her extensive professional career in education and her personal experience of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following a work-related incident.
In this episode, Tanya talks about Life at the Sharp End of training people and organisations to become trauma informed, and the practical steps that we can all take to support people around us when they are affected by unacceptable workplace behaviour.
Content warning:
This episode includes mention of sexual harm, PTSD and suicidal ideation. If you're affected in any way by the issues discussed, please make use of these links to support resources and organisations
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What can you learn from this episode?
We’ve heard in this episode about research that found “the effect of workplace bullying was significantly larger when PTSD and burnout are used as outcome measures. Workplace bullying is a predictor of depressive, anxiety and stress-related psychological complaints.” (Verkuil et al, 2015)
Tanya talked about how people who've been exposed to traumatic situations will be acutely sensitive to the way others react when they speak about their experiences – as she put it , they’ve developed a very high “bullshit meter.”
So how we respond when someone has the courage to approach us and disclose that they’ve experienced something traumatic at work is critical to their trust and wellbeing.
For practitioners in HR, Professional Standards Units, Complaint Management teams, legal, and anyone undertaking investigations into behaviour and conduct incidents – recognising trauma and its symptoms is a baseline requirement.
The actions you take have the potential to re-traumatise people and significantly compound the harm that’s already been caused to people affected.
We’ve heard a personal story about the impact caused when an organisation mishandles a complaint investigation back in episode 2 and episode 3 of the podcast, when “Jane” told us about the harmful health consequences she suffered after her organisation responded in a way that was very obviously not trauma-informed.
For those of you in leadership positions — even if your country doesn’t yet impose a strong legal duty on you to prevent and address psychosocial harm in your organisation — you have an ethical responsibility to do the right thing, to act in good faith, and implement trauma-informed practices that prevent and tackle unacceptable workplace conduct.
There's a pretty compelling return on investment case too.
We all have a role to play in supporting the people around us, and the advice that Tanya’s shared in this episode can help you become more aware of the things that you can do, when the time comes that somebody asks for your help.
Chapter markers
| Time code | Content |
|---|---|
| 00: 00:00 | Introduction |
| 00:02:52 | Tanya’s background with trauma in education |
| 00:08:24 | What is trauma in the workplace? |
| 00:14:10 | When your job compounds workplace trauma |
| 00:18:46 | How does being trauma-informed combat stigma? |
| 00:22:30 | The impact of trauma on people affected |
| 00:24:06 | Workplace investigations : how traditional approaches compound trauma |
| 00:29:45 | Credibility assessments - taking account of trauma |
| 00:31:37 | Techniques to becoming trauma-informed |
| 00:35:13 | “You can always speak to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)” |
| 00:41:33 | Trauma awareness is every day, not one day |
| 00:46:56 | The business case for trauma-informed training |
| 00:51:29 | The added value of trauma-informed training |
| 00:55:09 | Supporting people on all sides of complaints and investigations |
| 01:00:21 | Who helps the helpers? |
| 01:01:19 | Contacting Tanya Hallett |
| 01:03:14 | Lessons for leaders, HR and Professional Standards Units to learn |
References
- Verkuil, B., Atasayi, S. and Molendijk, M.L. (2015) ‘Workplace Bullying and Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis on Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Data’, PLOS ONE. Edited by D.S. Courvoisier, 10(8), p. e0135225
Links
- Follow Tanya Hallett on LinkedIn
- Visit Tanya's website – Trauma Informed Practice Training