Traumatic experiences in the workplace can arise from various sources like microaggressions from colleagues, acts of racism, sexism or misogyny, burnout, and even negative performance evaluations.
Trauma that occurs in the workplace can affect a person’s ability to be productive, be present and feel like they belong.
In this session, panelists discuss ways workplace trauma can be healed as well as how leadership can prevent it from occurring. Time off can be one of the most effective ways to allow a person to heal, especially when paired with an integrated re-onboarding process. Leadership accountability should also include supporting employees through their trauma and preventing traumatic events in the workplace.
Highlights From the Session
“Have an equitable and intentional onboarding process, understand personality styles, ask a lot of questions in your interview process to understand the fit and what this person needs. And then have some type of ongoing employee engagement strategy. [Consider] what it looks like to keep constant touchpoints with them, to make sure they continue to receive what they need. And hold their leadership accountable so that they’re getting the direction and support that they need, and they’re in an environment that is conducive for their success.” — Zachary Nunn, Fair360, formerly DiversityInc
“If people feel like they are not able to speak up, or if they feel like they’re not equal to be an ally to someone else, they don’t have the courage to do something in support of someone else or themselves — that’s not going to go away when the person comes back from taking time off. It’s important behaviors such as racism, sexism and misogyny are addressed and not tolerated so that you create a culture that’s more acceptable and people are able to flourish and thrive in those environments.” — Dr. Samantha E. Erskine, The PhD Project, University of Massachusetts Boston
