Recent years have seen a significant shift in how organizations approach workplace culture. Out: companies asking employees to check their personal lives at the door and just do their jobs. In: companies focusing on inviting people to bring their whole selves to work and prioritizing workplaces centered on employee engagement and well-being.

This shift was already occurring before the COVID pandemic started in early 2020 and has only been accelerated by increased attention on continued racial inequities and violence, a polarized and aggressive political climate, more frequent and severe environmental disasters, and wars like those currently occurring in Ukraine and Gaza.

On top of all of this, news is coming faster and faster, and society is evolving quickly, making it more acceptable to talk about any of the topics listed above openly in just about every situation, including the workplace.  The result: more and more people are facing mental health challenges, including increased rates of anxiety and depression.

The best companies are seeing this shift and taking proactive steps to support employees, including establishing a trauma-informed workplace.

How do you create a trauma-informed workplace?

1. Learn about trauma and trauma-informed workplaces

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, trauma ”results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life-threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being."

Author and expert Katharine Manning defines a trauma-informed workplace as “an organization that operates with an understanding of trauma and its negative effects on employees, clients, and the communities the company serves while working to mitigate those effects.”

Take time to advance your knowledge about trauma, where it comes from, and how it impacts people, and explore what you can do to transform your organization into a trauma-informed workplace. A valuable resource is “A Trauma-Informed Approach to Workforce” from the National Fund for Workforce Solutions.

2. Empower people to bring their whole selves to work, including the trauma they may have experienced in their lives

This includes both communicating that employees are encouraged to show up as their authentic selves and creating spaces specifically for team members to connect with their peers and share about themselves and their lived experiences.

These practices help foster a culture of care, support, trust, and psychological safety – it allows employees to know that it’s safe to show up to work as themselves and that, if they are experiencing trauma or the impacts of trauma, they will be met with support and not face judgment or reduced career opportunities.

3. Develop policies, processes, and practices that support people who may have experienced trauma

Create organizational infrastructure that complements the focus on psychological safety, equity, and inclusion. This can be advanced through policy recommendations, including but not limited to:

• Expanding health benefits to include mental health supports

• Provide PTO days specifically for mental health (or bundle this into sick days)

• Contracting with an Employee Assistance Program

• Creating on-site wellness rooms

• Offering flexible/hybrid work arrangements

4. Implement training on behavioral expectations that can help prevent and mitigate trauma and re-traumatization

Offer professional development opportunities focused on education and expected behaviors and activities, such as:

• DEI 101

• Inclusive leadership and fostering psychological safety

• Trauma 101: What it is, how it impacts people, and how it can show up at work

• Identifying, preventing, and mitigating trauma and re-traumatization

• De-escalation and mental health crisis management

Trauma is a sensitive, complex, and challenging topic, and it requires acting with care and sensitivity. Moving too quickly, without a guiding strategy or the necessary organizational capacity can cause harm to the exact people a trauma-informed workplace is designed to support. 

 Instead, be intentional and thoughtful in your approach. A trauma-informed workplace has become a necessity, not only for your people but also for your organization’s long-term success.

Need help determining how to achieve high-impact, measurable results with your DEI work?  Contact us here.

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Photo by Marcel Strauß