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Trauma in the workplace: what it is and 5 ways leadership can help

January 20, 2023 - 24 min read

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What is trauma in the workplace?

Common causes of workplace trauma

How leadership can mitigate workplace trauma

Help fight trauma in the workplace

Traumatic experiences can be debilitating. That includes physical trauma, emotional trauma, and trauma that has both a physical and mental component.

People may experience traumatic incidents in any area of their life. But recently, there’s been an increased prevalence of trauma in the workplace.

The pandemic was particularly traumatizing for many employees—particularly frontline workers. This includes doctors, nurses, and health care professionals. (These professionals were often faced with traumatic incidents on a daily basis as they provided care to COVID patients.) It also includes people like grocery store workers and nursing home employees. These employees were forced to put themselves at increased risk of COVID just to go to work every day.

But trauma in the workplace isn’t limited to any particular industry or job type. And not all trauma in the workplace is pandemic-related. For example, many organizations have a workplace culture that continually traumatizes their employees. Or, there may be an event in a workplace that causes trauma, like an accident or shooting.

And this kind of workplace trauma can have an intensely negative impact, both on your employees and your organization. The effects of trauma can cause employee mental health to deteriorate. Often, employees experiencing trauma at work don’t feel safe in the work environment. And ultimately, that can lead to them leaving the company—and the organization losing top talent.

As an organization, it’s important to do everything you can to address trauma in the workplace. You'll also want to do everything you can to support employees that have experienced trauma at work.

But how, exactly, do you do that?

What is trauma in the workplace?

Before we jump into how to support employees who have experienced trauma at work, let’s touch on what, exactly, trauma in the workplace is.

Before we jump into how to support employees who have experienced trauma at work, let’s touch on what, exactly, trauma in the workplace is.

Workplace trauma occurs when employees experience a trauma at work. This can be a one-time traumatic event, like a workplace accident. Or, it could be ongoing stressful events (like unrealistic expectations around their workload or an abusive boss).

When someone has experienced trauma, it can manifest in different ways. (This is true whether the trauma is a result of a single event or ongoing stressors, like a toxic work environment.) This includes symptoms associated with both physical health and mental health. These symptoms could ultimately lead to acute stress disorder or, in more severe cases, post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD.

Some of the long-lasting effects associated with trauma in the workplace include:

1. Ongoing mental health issues

Trauma in the workplace can lead to ongoing mental health issues. Depending on the person and situation, this may include:

2. Ongoing physical health issues

Workplace trauma can also cause issues with physical health. This may include:

3. Flashbacks

People that have experienced trauma may experience flashbacks to the traumatic event. During a flashback, an employee may feel like they’re reliving their trauma. Their nervous system reacts as if the trauma is happening in real-time—even if the trauma has long past. This can, obviously, be extremely stressful, scary, and draining to the employee experiencing it.

4. Increased absenteeism

Trauma at work can also cause issues with an employee’s attendance and employee engagement. For example, if the employee is experiencing mental and/or physical symptoms, they may need to stay home to take care of their health. Or, if they find they get triggered at work (for example, they experience symptoms every time they have to interact with a toxic boss)? They may avoid coming to work as a way to avoid potential triggers.

5. Increased reactivity

Trauma isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience. People react to trauma in different ways. And one common reaction? Increased reactivity.

Employees that have experienced trauma at work may be hyper-reactive. This means that they are more prone to anger and irritability—and may react in a way that is misaligned with the situation they're experiencing.

Sometimes, this hyper-reactivity occurs when their trauma is triggered. (For example, after interacting with their emotionally abusive boss, they may be more irritable. This may cause them to act out—like yelling at another employee that asks for help on a project). But increased reactivity can also be an ongoing symptom. In that situation, people may be viewed as having a "short fuse."

6. Decreased work performance


All of the side effects of trauma can make it hard to get work done. Between the mental, emotional, and physical symptoms, employees may experience a lack of focus. They may also struggle to make progress on their tasks and projects. This can cause performance to take a nosedive—even in employees that have historically been top performers.

7. Increase in burnout

Many people dealing with trauma show avoidant behaviors. They look for ways to avoid feeling or thinking about the impact the trauma has had on them. And for some employees, one of the ways they avoid dealing with the trauma is by throwing themselves into work.

While their work performance may improve, this puts them at an increased risk of burnout.

8. Self-isolation

People who experience trauma at work may become increasingly withdrawn and isolated. For example, an employee with a lot of friends at work may pull back from their work relationships. (They may also pull back from relationships outside of work, including family and friends.) They may spend significantly more time alone, which can lead to additional mental health issues.

9. Substance abuse issues

Another way some people avoid dealing with their trauma is through substances, like alcohol or other drugs. Depending on the level of the person’s substance abuse issues, they may or may not use substances in the workplace. But whether they’re using at work or outside of work (or both), substance abuse can be life-threatening.

upset-man-slumped-against-concrete-wall

Common causes of workplace trauma

Now that you understand some of the different effects of workplace trauma, let’s touch on what might cause trauma in the workplace.

Some of the most common causes of workplace trauma include:

Physical workplace violence

Violence is traumatic—and it happens in the workplace. According to data outlined by the Centers for Disease Control, in 2020, 20,050 workers experienced nonfatal workplace violence. (73 percent of those workers were women.) And if someone experiences violence at work, they may (and probably will be) traumatized by it. This includes physical violence, like a physical or sexual assault. 

Physical violence in the workplace—even if it’s targeted at a single person—can cause a collective trauma, where much (or all) of the workforce is dealing with the traumatic event.

A toxic work environment

A toxic work environment can also drive trauma in the workplace. A “toxic work environment” can mean different things to different people. An example of a work culture that may traumatize employees is a culture that allows (or even encourages) discrimination in the workplace. This includes, among other things, racism, homophobia, sexism, or ageism. It also includes emotional violence, like being continually yelled at or degraded by a supervisor.

Another example is a culture of overwork. (For example, salaried employees are expected to work nights and weekends, even though they don't get extra pay.) A work environment that allows gaslighting, bullying, or workplace coercion can also be traumatizing for some team members.

Work accidents

An accident at work can also cause trauma. If an individual has an accident, it can cause individual trauma and/or trauma for the people that witnessed the accident. Sometimes, an accident is more widespread and includes a larger group of employees (for example, being stuck in a tornado while at work).

Unrelated traumas that happen at work

Not all trauma in the workplace is directly related to the workplace. People may experience a trauma at work that has nothing to do with the organization or other employees. But even though it's not directly related to work, they may still find work triggering after the event. (For example, let's say an employee gets a phone call at work that a loved one had been in an accident. Their grief and trauma may be triggered every time they sit at their desk or hear the phone ring.)

There may also be trauma associated with social issues—and that trauma can cause issues in the workplace. (For example, some employees may be traumatized from increased gun violence and mass shootings. And while no gun violence occurred at work, they may experience trauma symptoms or triggers during work hours.)

How leadership can mitigate workplace trauma

Organizations can’t completely eliminate trauma in the workplace. But there are things they can do to mitigate workplace trauma and better support their employees.

1. Remove the stigma

There is still some stigma surrounding trauma—and the issues that stem from it. But you can’t solve a problem that you’re unwilling to talk about. So, if you want to mitigate workplace trauma, the first step? Removing the stigma.

Talk to your employees about workplace trauma. Let them know that, as an organization, you’re there to support them. Make yourself available to listen to their challenges or answer any questions they may have. 

When trauma is discussed openly and often, it can create a sense of psychological safety. This will increase the chance of employees reporting workplace trauma. It will also create a safe environment for employees in asking for help if and when they’re struggling with trauma-related symptoms.

Also, if there is a trauma that does happen in your workplace, acknowledge it. Talk about it. Inform your employees about what you plan to do to deal with the traumatic event. For example, if there was a workplace accident, acknowledge what happened. Then, walk your employees through your plan to increase workplace safety. Let them know how you plan to prevent a similar accident from happening in the future.

Or, if an employee reports their supervisor is being abusive? Talk to the supervisor’s direct reports and let them know the supervisor has been removed. Then, offer them any additional support if they also experienced trauma as a result of the relationship.

2. Offer workplace trauma training

In order to effectively manage trauma in the workplace, you need your team to be informed. Or, more specifically, trauma-informed.

Workplace trauma training can get managers the information they need to better support employees. It can also give employees tools to understand their own trauma. It can also empower them to feel more comfortable seeking treatment and/or asking for support.

While there are a variety of trainings you could offer your team, some trauma-informed trainings you may want to consider include:

  • Common causes of workplace trauma—and how to deal with them

  • How to identify when someone has experienced a trauma—including recognizing triggers—and how to help

  • How to talk about traumatizing events, both individual and collective

  • How to spot abusive behavior in the workplace—and how to put a stop to it

  • How to create a work environment that supports employees dealing with trauma

  • How to report a trauma in the workplace

  • How to manage/support an employee in crisis

The better you train your team, the more informed your employees will be. And the more effective your organization will be at mitigating trauma as a result.

3. Offer additional resources to traumatized employees

It’s important that key team members have training on how to support employees dealing with trauma. This includes leadership, managers, and HR professionals. But they’re not health professionals. While they can offer support and understanding, they can’t provide professional help and/or treatment. And traumatized individuals often need professional help to manage and heal from their trauma.

That’s why it’s important to have additional resources on hand to support employees dealing with trauma. This includes referrals to trauma specialists and information on where they can find support. For example, referrals to social workers, mental health professionals, and/or trauma support groups.

You may also consider offering employees a mental health or employee wellness stipend. That way, if and when they find themselves dealing with trauma they have some additional financial resources to get the treatment they need.

4. Adopt a zero-tolerance policy to common drivers of workplace trauma

As mentioned, there are a number of different events and behaviors that can cause trauma in the workplace. It’s not possible to have a plan for every event or behavior that might traumatize an employee. But it is possible to have a plan for the common drivers of workplace trauma. And that plan should be a zero-tolerance policy.

It's important to protect your employees from trauma and deter traumatic dynamics in the workplace. And one way to do that is to take a zero-tolerance stance against common trauma-inducing behaviors. This includes:

  • Physical violence
  • Emotional violence (like gaslighting or bullying)
  • Emotionally abusive management practices

Write out your policy. Include it in your employee handbook—and then, distribute it to all employees. Have them sign a document that states that they read and understand the policy. This will lessen any potential issues if an employee needs to be disciplined and/or terminated for violating the policy.

Now, it’s important to note that you can’t take a zero-tolerance approach to every situation that may induce trauma. For example, some employees may find excessive gossiping to be traumatic. But you can’t fire every employee that shares gossip at the water cooler. You can, however, discourage it.

In those situations, it may be helpful to take a grey rocking approach—and encourage your employees to do the same. With this approach, you refuse to acknowledge or engage employees when they exhibit toxic behavior. You act as unresponsive as possible. Over time, this can lessen problematic behaviors.

If, however, the behavior continues to disrupt the work environment it might need to be escalated to HR or the individual's supervisor.

destraught-man-leaning-over-computer

5. Prioritize your employees’ health and well-being

As an organization, it’s important to take every step possible to mitigate trauma in the workplace. It's also imperative to support traumatized employees.

And one way to do that? Prioritizing your employees’ mental health and well-being.

When supporting your employees’ well-being is built into your culture, team members will be less stressed. They will be more engaged with their work, co-workers, and managers. If they experience a trauma, they will know the company will take it seriously—and do whatever necessary to support them. Knowing they have that support can help them build resilience and put them in a better place to manage trauma if and when it happens.

Not only will this help to support employees experiencing trauma, but it can actually help lessen trauma in the workplace. For example, a company that prioritizes employee well-being is less likely to have a toxic culture of overwork. This can help employees avoid burnout and the trauma that often goes with it.

Or, as another example, if you create a culture that values employee well-being? It will be easier to spot managers and employees that don’t align with that culture. For example, managers that yell at their direct reports. Then, you can take action to stop the traumatizing behavior. This may include terminating managers and/or employees that don’t value the health and well-being of their colleagues.

Help fight trauma in the workplace

Trauma in the workplace can have a serious impact, both on employees and on the organization as a whole. It’s important to understand not only how trauma in the workplace happens, but the potential impact it has on employees. And now that you do, you can take steps to avoid traumatic incidents—and take action to support employees if and when they do happen.

Ready for personal growth?

Whether it's overcoming challenges or reaching your full potential, our coaches are here to help.

Published January 20, 2023

Maggie Wooll

Maggie Wooll is a researcher, author, and speaker focused on the evolving future of work. Formerly the lead researcher at the Deloitte Center for the Edge, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Maggie is passionate about creating better work and greater opportunities for all.

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