Most organizations who have received trauma-informed training for their staff are providing some form of healthcare, mental health services, or are in other systems of care that provide services to those who have been trauma-impacted. This training can feel much more relevant when there are clients that have had some form of adversity and staff who are dealing with the consequences of that adversity.
But what about the business community? The workforce is a major part of our community. Most people work for some type of business in order to support their lives and the lives of their families. These businesses, organizations and corporations have the common traits of having humans in their culture. As Dr. Sandra Bloom reminds us in her research about organizations, they are full of humans who have normal needs and life issues. We all face adversity at times and for all of us who have been in leadership of organizations, we know that personal circumstances can have significant impact in the workplace.
Dr. Bloom refers to the biocratic nature of organizations which means that the way we perceive our organizations should reflect human values, responses and practices. So often, we have used depersonalized management systems to manage people. It almost feels like our management posture is more like how we manage machines as we attempt to achieve goals like productivity and consistency. Yet managing humans is so much more complex.
Employers are currently experiencing significant levels of mental health concerns, morale issues, absenteeism, turnover, behavioral issues, family impact stressors and so much more. Not only does this occupy a great deal of HR effort but also results in stressed managers and a less than effective workforce. This is not only a problem for management but also is costly to the bottom line to any organization.
As employers we will see more health, positivity, loyalty and yes, productivity if we understand the brain science of what is going on in the lives of our employees from a trauma-informed perspective. Imagine if all of our leadership and management were able to understand underlying issues and know how to relate to each individual who faces varied forms of life adversity.
I know from my own experience in personnel management how many times I have simply sat and listened to a family crisis of an employee, and what a difference it made to that employee in their perspectives and motivation. I have met with individuals who have had such losses that they were unable to perform their job on a given day. Having the skills to process with clarity what has happened to them and know how to listen and communicate about these issues have made a huge difference to their ability to move forward with their job and sometimes with their life. That kind of leadership makes a huge difference to their perspective on our organization as well.
There are skills that are common to trauma-informed perspective, policy and practice. I would contend that a trauma-informed and responsive environment brings a safe, healthy, productive and empowered culture that will help employees overcome life obstacles and sense the support and capability of their leaders to be both understanding and encouraging while being in a great workspace. This kind of culture promotes calm, loyalty, trust and lack of fear. In fact, they will be talking about how great their workplace and leaders are as they face the varied issues in life and are supported in how they are managing all those important life issues.
Lakeside manages a training program authored by Dr. Sandra Bloom which has all the values, skills and practices of a trauma-informed and responsive organization. If you are interested, please look at the Creating PRESENCE website to learn more. I think every business can benefit from the values and skills of trauma-informed care.
Gerry Vassar
President/CEO
