Trauma
Summary: Employers can’t guarantee that employees will never be exposed to trauma in the workplace. However, they can take action to help prevent the most debilitating effects of exposure to trauma. This includes teaching how to protect their own emotional well-being during a potentially traumatic incident and sharing coping strategies after the incident. These free resources can help.
For individuals
What might trigger a trauma response will be unique to individuals and their experiences. Managing trauma at work provides grounding exercises, audio and video clips, tips and suggested steps to help manage triggers while at work.
For leaders
Navigating trauma and triggers can present leaders with complex challenges. Trauma in organizations provides essential resources, tools, and strategies to empower leaders in preparing, supporting and protecting their employees. This could include trauma response training that focuses on the personal psychological impact rather than the physical or tactical impact from exposure.
Recruiting individuals from the Canadian newcomer community offers leaders a chance to mirror the diverse makeup of Canada in their workplaces. To support newcomers effectively, leaders should Enhance their orientation process and implement policies outlined in Discrimination prevention and inclusivity.
Leaders supporting employees, especially newcomers, should be aware of potential trauma stemming from past experiences related to immigration, civil unrest, or loss. Using insights from Leader support for newcomers can help address and support employees dealing with unique needs, fostering a more inclusive and empathetic workplace.
Trauma articles and resources
The list that follows includes the resources linked to above as well as related information that may be more specific to your current situation:
Trauma is a subjective experience for everyone. This is also true for the way we interact and respond to triggering situations after experiencing a traumatic event. On this page, you’ll find steps you can take to help manage trauma.
Help prepare leaders and employees to respond to traumatic incidents at work. Planning ahead can help reduce negative mental health effects.
Actions to protect psychological safety for employees who are new to the country. Learn about the value immigrants can bring to your organization and how to support their needs.
Tools and resources for managing your own health and wellness, as well as information for helping others. Find credible information about managing well-being and mental health-related concerns.
Understand how to address chronic mental stress and how to recognize hazards. This tool provides strategies for reducing risk to protect both employers and employees.
Anger can be a difficult emotion to experience because of your upbringing, societal norms and fear of its potential intensity. While anger is also a valuable emotion, you may need to adjust your reaction to it to prevent harm to yourself and others.
Psychological injury can happen as a result of severe stress or trauma. There are approaches to building resilience that make it less likely that psychological injury will be as severe in impact or duration. The strategies shared are intended to be part of team building or employee development activities and are not clinical in nature.
Select statements from the Guarding Minds at Work employee survey were identified by the researchers as potential indicators of the level of stress and trauma at work.