Business leadership needs to be aware and concerned about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and post-traumatic growth (PTG) and what recovery means for both. The trauma of job insecurity, health insecurity, major intergenerational loss, and cultural assaults over the past several years leaves us reeling and impacts our productivity. Leaders are concerned about their employees’ well-being and safety.
When employees share or demonstrate a need for assistance, we rely on our human resources department (or representative) to step in.
However, business leaders and managers who can work with HR and their employees through trauma recovery greatly help those they lead and their entire organization.
The Catalyst for Change
It’s no wonder that reports of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are on the rise. Experiencing violence (as a victim or witness), a serious illness, or the death of a loved one can trigger post-traumatic stress. Unfortunately, fear, misunderstanding, and lack of trust prevent many employees from seeking assistance or reporting events.
Trauma can impact anyone. Great leaders recognize this. They understand that how we manage trauma can define our lives. The best business leaders openly share their own struggles and how they manage uncertainty and can engage others to share their stories. Why?
Individual well-being matters in every organization, large or small. When leaders and managers are equipped to treat everyone with care and compassion, everyone benefits.
In Posttraumatic Growth: Theory, Research, and Applications, (Routledge, 2018), authors Richard G. Tedeschi, Jane Shakespeare-Finch, Kanako Taku, and Lawrence G. Calhoun share their research on trauma and how business leaders can help traumatized people recover. According to Tedeschi, “despite the misery resulting from the coronavirus outbreak, many of us can expect to develop in beneficial ways in its aftermath.”
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What is Trauma?
Although trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are frequently used interchangeably, they are different. Trauma is time-based and can be experienced more than once by an individual, and there are multiple types of trauma:
- Physical or psychological
- A one-time event
- Historical this type of trauma is often associated with racial and ethnic population groups in the United States who have suffered major intergenerational losses and assaults on their culture and well-being
- Traumatic grief/separation/forced displacement
- Natural disasters
- Witnessing any of the above traumatic events
Responses to trauma can be expressed through emotions and/or behavior and can impede an individual’s ability to function.
What is PTSD?
PTSD is a longer-term condition that can develop as a result of trauma. However, not all traumatic events lead to PTSD. Re-experience of the event can occur through flashbacks, dreams, and thoughts. Common signs and symptoms of PTSD include:
- Avoidance of people, places, or memories of the event
- Difficulty sleeping
- Being easily startled
- Feelings of guilt or blame for the event
- Outbursts of anger
- A constant state of agitation/arousal (not triggered by traumatic event reminder)
- Event memory lapse
- Negative thinking about self/world
- Loss of interest in pleasure, family, or friends
PTSD symptoms can begin as early as three months post-trauma or years after, occur for more than a month, and interfere with work, relationships, and daily tasks. A trained medical professional can make a diagnosis of PTSD, but business leaders who have a greater understanding of the condition can aid in the recovery process.
What Business Leaders Need to Know about PTG
Post-traumatic growth (PTG) occurs through the struggle with adversity and results in a transformative, positive change. Based on the research published by Lawrence G. Calhoun and Richard G. Tedeschi in The Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth (Routledge, 2014), people who make meaning out of trauma:
- Increase their sense of personal strength and ability to prevail
- Improve their relationships and sense of belonging
- Experience greater compassion
- Deepen their sense of purpose and appreciation for life
Research also reveals the benefits of small support groups. These offer the opportunity to share our stories, which are invaluable tools in PTG.
PTG at Work: What Managers Need to Know
Managers and team leaders can provide a psychologically safe space where employees can share their stories, restore their well-being, and reaffirm their purpose. Below are five key questions to help employees validate their experience and move forward constructively through the pandemic recovery:
- What is your greatest loss as a result of the pandemic?
- What is your greatest gain as a result of the pandemic?
- What self-discoveries have you, or are you making due to the pandemic?
- How can you apply your discoveries going forward? What would it look like?
- What can you use to prompt you to apply your discovery? Specifically, what two words or phrases?
Remind your team to refrain from cross-talk (don’t interrupt or comment on what someone else has said) and keep what is shared confidential. Listening as “attentive companions” creates and holds a safe space for one another. Using storytelling based on these questions, we express authenticity, vulnerability, and trust—for and in others.
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Your Trauma Recovery: What Employees Need to Know
As many return to pre-pandemic routines, trauma and trauma recovery are frequent topics of discussion. For some, the challenges have brought a new appreciation (and recognition) of personal strengths. They are exploring new possibilities personally and professionally.
If you’re not there yet, know you are not alone. Help is available. While post-traumatic growth (PTG) may happen naturally, there are steps you can take to facilitate the process.
Five Ways to Facilitate Growth after Trauma
A traumatic event is often shocking, scary, and sometimes dangerous. It disrupts our beliefs and challenges our assumptions. Trauma can produce anxiety and repetitive thoughts.
- Educate: Trauma disrupts our beliefs, challenges our assumptions, and can catalyze positive change. Consider where you might find positive impacts.
- Regulate emotions: Notice feelings as they occur. Then, determine what thoughts preceded negative feelings. Replace negative thinking with positive thoughts.
- Share your story: Talk about your past and present experiences.
- Create an authentic narrative: In what ways are you changing or have you grown? Where are new possibilities and opportunities?
- Be of service: Helping others can renew our energy and help us find meaning.
Be patient with yourself. When you are ready, the effort is worth it: you are worth it. If you need help, ask your manager, a trusted mentor, or a qualified professional.
Creator of the KASHBOX: Knowledge, Attitude, Skills, Habits
Helping You Realize Your Potential
I help people discover their potential, expand and develop the skills and attitudes necessary to achieve a higher degree of personal and professional success and create a plan that enables them to balance the profit motives of their business with the personal motives of their lives.