Can Workplace Trauma Help Build Emotional Resilience?

1.) LEADERSHIP TIPS FOR 2023:

Hello again. Welcome to Spring and this month’s edition of 5-Bullets.

You know that I’m a big advocate for workplace mental health and I’ve focused a lot over the past few years on anxiety and burnout at work. Lately, with all the news about corporate layoffs and companies experiencing constant cutbacks, I’ve been reading more and more about workplace trauma, including how employees may experience it as a form of betrayal, as well as the need for more trauma-informed organizations.

Trauma in the workplace is not something that I have ever considered when I think about what might cause trauma for a person. In my mind (before writing this) I wondered what catastrophe could happen at a workplace (of course not including life-threatening accidents or incidents of gun or other physical violence) that could actually cause someone to suffer trauma? I did not directly associate the impact of workplace bullying or microaggressions as causing a trauma, let alone the impact of being passed over for a promotion or having one’s concerns minimized. More simply stated, I would not readily describe the impact from these as suffering a trauma. Yet, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SA&MHSA) describes trauma as “an emotional injury that affects performance and well-being.”

During a recent peer group coaching session with C-level executives, I found myself saying “oh, how traumatic that must have been for all of you” after hearing how they addressed workforce reductions and overall corporate cuts. They shared what they were feeling, thinking, and doing to recover as a result of their (ongoing) experiences, which at times felt traumatic, and that word was used to associate or assume trauma. It is these types of workplace occurrences that cause leaders and individuals, alike, to experience the definition of trauma previously cited, if only for a short period of time.

This leads me to take the point of view that any intense emotional experience in the workplace can certainly lead to one experiencing trauma. Yet more importantly, the traumatizing experiences can also help build emotional resiliency, and that’s a skill leaders and individuals all need, not just in the workplace, but throughout life itself.

I think back on my own experience with what could be considered workplace trauma with the definition set-forth by the SA&MHSA. I was the Marketing and Corporate Communications Director at a highly visible joint venture between Apple Computer and IBM. (The latter was a giant, global corporation at the time, bigger than Apple, which seems like a million years ago!)The newly formed subsidiary, as exciting and ‘historic’ as it seemed, was a miserable mismatch of cultures and leaders. Worse yet, a totally inexperienced executive from IBM who failed at introducing one computer operating system to the market, was picked as CEO for the fully Apple-staffed organization with the same mission. As the person in charge of positioning him and his ‘vision,’ the intensity and emotional impact of our relationship after more than two years became impossible for me to bear.

When I finally resigned three or four months after returning from maternity leave with my first child, I was physically ill and mentally “traumatized”, feeling like a failure during my entire transition out. Yet I continued my unsustainable work schedule (even as a new Mom) and simply endured.

I may not have recognized it at the time, but these experiences were helping me build emotional resiliency in the workplace. I recall the first time I was asked to lay off members of my staff as a young professional, I was again physically ill days before in anticipation of the conversations I had to have. Yet I got through it, and in the years following, when I had to do it two or three additional times, it was not as physically and emotionally taxing to me. I was developing emotional resiliency in the workplace.

As in the case of the C-Suite peer group whose cutbacks led to difficult conversations and a focus on details that caused them emotional stress, sadness, and maybe a bit of PTSD, especially because good performers were let go, they recognized what they needed most was simply time to recover. They, too, have built emotional resiliency.

PositivityPsychology.com describes emotional resilience as an intrinsic motivation, an inner force by which we hold ourselves through all the downsides of life. It is a trait that is there since birth and continues to develop throughout life. Choosing to grow it can teach you to deal with situations more effectively, and also safeguard yourself from any emotional devastation. To do that, focus on building these key behaviors and competencies: self-awareness, persistence, emotional control, flexible thinking and interpersonal relationships.

To grow your emotional resilience in the workplace, and in life, focus on building these 5 behaviors and competencies:

Self-Awareness – Having the ability to tune into our own feelings, internal conflicts and perceptions of the world allows for a deeper understanding of how these all contribute to our actions; looking for answers within ourselves helps us become more capable and cognizant;
Persistence – By developing the consistency and commitment to keep trying when dealing with external stressors or handling internal conflicts, we keep the inner motivation alive;
Emotional Control – An intentional focus on managing emotions allows us to be less overwhelmed by stress; rather than taking a leap or having a reaction because of an emotional trigger, being in control allows us to not draw emotional conclusions so quickly;
Flexible Thinking – Building this powerful social skill allows us to incorporate optimism, adjustability, rationality and positive thinking; developing this through training or experience will allow for a more emotionally resilient life;
Interpersonal Relationships – Having strong interpersonal relationships widens our vision and changes the way we see the world and ourselves; as social creatures, being surrounded by people provides the strength to overcome and endure problems as well as evolve from them.

Source: Chief, “Trauma at Work Is a Form of Betrayal” by Alizah Salario, Feb. 14, 2023. Harvard Business Review, “We Need Trauma-Informed Workplaces” by Katharine Manning, March 31, 2022. PositivePsychology.com “What is Emotional Resilience? (+6 Proven Ways to Build it)” by Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury, BA, January 22, 2019.

2.) INSPIRING QUOTE OF THE MONTH:

“Instead of seeing the rug being pulled from under us, we can learn to dance on the shifting carpet.” – Thomas Crum

3.) FAVORITE RECENT INSTAGRAM OR LINKEDIN POST:

When people perceive that their organization cares about them they’re seven times more likely to want to stay three or more years, and they’re four times less likely to burn out and feel that they can’t participate.

-Henry Albrecht, CEO Limeade, a corporate solutions company.

4.) WHAT I’M READING FROM MY BOOKSHELF:

The Power of Full Engagement written by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz many years ago. It was published in 2003, however, the Corporate Athlete training system that they provide is still, if even more relevant today. What I now know but had to learn ‘the hard way’ is that the secret to productivity and conquering impossible workloads is managing energy, not time.

Pushing through for hours on end, thinking the more time I spent working the more I would accomplish, only resulted in burn-out and illness for me, as I see it do for many high-performing clients. The Power of Full Engagement lays out a scientifically-based approach to managing one’s energy and can be a powerful step in combating burnout and overwhelm (think… the more exhausted we are, the more difficult everything seems). When I coach around managing one’s capacity, I relate that to both workload and energy. Here is a way to learn how to build reserves so you have the ability to do the former with the latter!

5.) LEADERSHIP & LIFE QUESTION TO PONDER THIS MONTH:

When you think about an emotional injury that might have affected your performance and well-being in the workplace at an earlier point in your career, how did it manifest for you then versus how might you handle the same situation today?

Are you learning to be emotionally resilient at work, and in life?

All the Best,

Loretta Stagnitto