Managing trauma, loss and grief in the workplace

Introduction

Skylight and EAPworks have partnered and collaborated to present

This practical handbook is for employers, senior executive teams, board members, health and safety representatives, HR and managers.

When traumatic events or critical incidents

It is straight talking and strategic. It provides:

can have a powerful impact on any workplace.

B core information to increase your

Other traumatic situations are much more

happen at work, like an armed robbery, a natural disaster, a sudden death or an industrial accident, they are usually marked by a sense of threat, fear, shock and sometimes, horror. They

this quality resource. We know well the impact that trauma, loss

understanding about the impact of trauma,

personal, like the break-up of a manager’s

and grief can have in the workplace and hope this information will

loss and grief in a workplace

marriage, the sudden death of a receptionist’s

assist workplace leaders of every kind to respond confidently when employees are facing difficult times – whatever the cause. We thank Judith Jones, Melissa Hartwick and Tricia Irving Hendry for their research, writing and design for the original handbook on which this updated and extended version is based. ‘When Trauma and Grief

B practical guidance to assist you to support

child, the terminal illness of your longest-

employees, clients and customers through

serving employee or the redundancies of

difficult life situations and to show them

employees. These also have a powerful impact

they are valued

in a workplace.

Come To Work’ was produced to support Canterbury businesses

B resilience-building strategies

immediately after the earthquake of February 2011.

B sources of additional help, if required.

We sincerely acknowledge and thank all those who have contributed their experiences and insights for this handbook.

This handbook is complemented by

H&S legislation responsibilities

a training package for workplace leaders.

Senior workplace leaders must ensure

Writer and editor: Tricia Irving Hendry

For training information, please email

organisational compliance with Health and

Design: Mark Wotton Design

[email protected]

Safety legislation, requiring workplace

Your choices can influence your employees’

benefits employees and all people affected by

safety, wellbeing and recovery either

an organisation’s activities. Keeping up to date

Order by phone: 0800 299 100 or +64 4 939 6767

positively or negatively. Your responses

with the laws and regulations is essential.

Order by email: [email protected]

will also affect workplace morale, employee

Failure to comply impacts the lives of workers

For training workshop enquiries:

turnover, productivity levels, organisational

Email : [email protected]

reputation and brand, financial sustainability

For further copies of this handbook: Purchase online: www.skylight.org.nz/shop

© Skylight 2013 ISBN 978-0-9876540-3-8

Skylight PO Box 7309, Newtown, Wellington 6242, New Zealand. Email : [email protected]

www.skylight.org.nz

and the bottom line.

Note :

environments to be safe and healthy. This

and stakeholders, and their families/ whanau, as well as financial costs, damage to reputation and possible legal prosecution. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment provides key information about this and other key employment-related legislation, tools, templates, information,

The term employee used in this handbook

guidance and helpful links.

refers to a permanent, fixed-term or casual

www.business.govt.nz/healthandsafetygroup

employee or contractor.

or phone 0800 29 90 20.

1

Contents

2

1 INTRODUCTION

42

PART THREE : HOW TO SUPPORT EMPLOYEE RECOVERY AND WELLBEING

5

PART ONE : UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT

44

Your responsibilities

6

Types of trauma, loss and grief at work

45

If an employee is seriously injured or ill

8

Common trauma, loss and grief reactions

46

If an employee has died

10

Signs that employees are struggling

47

If a death occurs at work

12

The many workplace costs

48 Suicide

13

Understanding trauma

49 Homicide

17

What is PTSD?

18

Understanding grief

22

Secondhand trauma, loss and grief

23

50

Caring for an employee’s family

51

Getting back to work

Compassion fatigue

52

Support needs will be different

24

How long reactions last

54

The elephant in the room

55

When people say NO and push you away

26

PART TWO : WHAT TO DO AFTER A TRAUMATIC INCIDENT AT WORK

56

Seeking solutions for ongoing issues

28

When a workplace incident occurs

58

The exhaustion factor

29

Your goals immediately after a traumatic incident at work

60

Encouraging self-care

30

Eleven steps to managing workplace incidents

61

Encourage your team to help each other

61

When people cry

30

B Take stock

31

B Communicating with shocked people

33

B Support your senior team

64

Handling others’ anger

33

B Stay in touch with your employees

65

When anger becomes violence

34

B Be clear about day-to-day arrangements

66

Ways to deal with strong anger

35

B If you are physically distant from affected employees

67

Alcohol, drugs, gambling and risk-taking

36

B The reality of survivor guilt

37

B Possible investigations by external authorities

37

B The role of critical incident specialists

38

B Dealing with media interest

70 When employees need additional help

40

B Business recovery and continuity

72

68 Gossip 69

Be aware of special days coming up

Laughter in the middle of it all

3

PART ONE 74

PART FOUR : RESPONDING TO THE IMPACT OF ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE ON EMPLOYEES

76

Significant workplace changes

77

How to support affected employees proactively

78

When you have to lead change yourself

79

Factors that build up personal resilience

80

PART FIVE : HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR CLIENTS AND CUSTOMERS

81

Support and equip your frontline employees

83

When clients and customers face trauma, loss and grief

4

Understanding the impact 5

84

PART SIX : ABOUT YOU

85

Your own needs

86

Self-care tips

87

How talking to someone else can help

88

Letting it out – getting it out

89

What’s helpful and unhelpful in difficult times?

90

PART SEVEN : SUPPORT OPTIONS TO ACCESS

91

Support options

94

How Skylight supports you, employees, employees’ families, customers and clients

96

Training to complement this handbook

Types of trauma, loss and grief at work A wide variety of life situations can cause change, loss, trauma and grief for people. Difficult life situations or events can powerfully impact people’s lives – at home and at work.

6

I could usually tell if something was affecting someone in my team, but other times I couldn’t pick it. Let’s face it – we all bring our lives to work because we’re humans and not robots.

B natural disasters

B workplace harrassment

B accidents

B sexual abuse

B industrial accidents

B restructuring

B fires

B redundancies

B near misses

B a relationship crisis

situations – and by the grief they give rise to – could include:

B injury

B a separation

B employees, clients or customers directly experiencing the

B a new diagnosis

B a divorce

B serious illness

B discovering an affair

B miscarriage

B bullying

B life-affecting disability

B someone going to prison

B a death

B loss of a pet

B suicide or attempted suicide

B a parent/child crisis

B homicide

B a relative in trouble

B violence B having to move B a close friend or relative in crisis B a financial crisis – at work or home B domestic abuse – physical, verbal, emotional

The circle of people affected by trauma and grief can be wider than you think. In your workplace, people who may be affected by traumatic

situation/event

B those witnessing the situation/event or the immediate aftermath

B other employees hearing about what has happened (for some, this may trigger difficult memories of past situations)

B employees who led or helped with the aftermath response B the owner, Chief Executive or board of the business or organisation who has responsibility for managing the workplace situation/event

B those who have had a near miss, due to chance circumstances B those who help employees in the following days, weeks and months

B the family members or close friends of those directly affected, including children and young people

B clients, customers or concerned members of the community who have heard about the situation/event.

B drug or alcohol dependence or other addiction B crime incidents – robbery, intruders, fraud, assault, wilful damage

When he had that bad stroke, we were all stunned. We didn’t see that one coming.

7

This practical handbook assists

An excellent resource for managers and

workplace leaders to better understand

business owners, providing accurate and

and respond to the impact that trauma, loss and grief can have on their business or organisation. It provides guidelines for managing traumatic incidents and strategies for supporting the wellbeing of employees affected by difficult life situations. It also considers the needs of

useful advice for dealing with an important issue that, until now, few have had the courage to acknowledge. Dan Davis Health and Safety Training and Quality Advisor, Impac

This handbook should be on every HR manager’s and senior manager’s shelf.

affected customers and clients. A range of

It is an essential resource to help manage

sources for further assistance is provided.

the everyday issues people bring to their workplace. Carolina Gartner

A training workshop complements this handbook. To enquire, or to make a training

HR Consultant, People & SolutioNZ

booking for yourself and/or for your

This is an invaluable resource for those in

leadership team, please email

leadership roles within a workplace. The

[email protected]

issues discussed can be difficult for any to

or phone Skylight on 0800 299 100.

deal with; however, there will likely be a time in every manager’s or supervisor’s career

www.skylight.org.nz

when such situations do arise. Having an understanding of some practical strategies to deal with staff affected can be a real benefit. Darren Mitchell Senior Employment Relations Consultant, Business Central

A very useful resource for workplace leaders to use to support people dealing with difficult situations, which often are unexpected. The impact of these issues can be far reaching. Morag Woodley Director of Human Resources, Department of Internal Affairs