![]() ![]() When we are in a period of crisis, many of us look to our institutions to support and protect us. This is because in times of trauma, the twin concepts of institutional betrayal and psychological safety come into play. The way organizations support people during periods of trauma is uniquely powerful, and the ramifications are long-lasting. Why It’s Important for Organizations to Be Trauma-Informed A trauma-informed organization is one that operates with an understanding of trauma and its negative effects on the organization’s employees and the communities it serves and works to mitigate those effects. The same incident can affect different people differently, so the goal is to assess each individual and provide the supports they need. In my work with organizations, I use a simplified version of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration definition of trauma: Trauma is an emotional injury that affects performance and well-being. To do that, we need to build trauma-informed organizations. That’s why it’s so important that they take steps now to build the cultures that can see them through this crisis and the ones we’ll all inevitably face in the future. New challenges arise every day, and conflict and strife anywhere in our globally connected world affect us all.Īs we’ve seen the lines between work and home blur and a fundamental shift in our expectations of the places we work, organizations have struggled to provide the support and leadership their employees and customers need. Trauma and distress can arise from a wide array of causes, including domestic violence, sexual assault, racism, bias, harassment, economic uncertainty, political division, and more. Estimates are that six in 10 men and five in 10 women experience at least one trauma, and approximately 6% of the population will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. The reality, though, is that trauma is not new in our organizations. Organizations have had to confront issues they never expected and find new ways to support their employees through repeated traumatic experiences. The past two years have been incredibly turbulent, as we’ve faced Covid, racial violence, political upheaval, environmental disasters, war, and more. However, with forethought, planning, and commitment, we can be prepared to meet the next challenge - whatever it may be - and come through it stronger. It may not be possible to predict or avoid the next crisis our organizations will face. As we’ve seen the lines between work and home blur and a fundamental shift in our expectations of the places we work, organizations have struggled to provide the support and leadership that their employees and customers need. Estimates are that six in 10 men and five in 10 women experience at least one trauma, and approximately 6% of the population will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. But trauma is not new in our organizations, and it’s not going away, either. For the past few years, we’ve been experiencing collective trauma. ![]()
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