When Trauma Comes to Work: What Employers Need to Know

Whether trauma stems from the nature of the work, customer aggression or external events, the right support can reduce long-term psychological harm.

One in two employees (50%) have been exposed to a traumatic event in the past year, up from 42% five years ago, according to our latest Health at Work report.

These can range from events outside of work, such as a serious car accident or traumatic birth, as well as workplace incidents including customer aggression, the death of a colleague, or ongoing exposure to distressing situations as part of the job.

While employers cannot prevent every traumatic event, they can influence what happens next. By putting the right processes and support in place, employers can support those who are struggling, to reduce the risk of them developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Five ways to reduce the risk of employees developing PTSD

1. What does trauma mean?

Trauma has become a heavily used word, yet not all highly stressful or upsetting experiences are considered traumatic events in the clinical sense. While missing a train or a presentation falling flat can be extremely stressful, trauma involves exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, violence or experiences that overwhelm a person’s ability to cope.

Perhaps an employee witnessed the sudden death of a customer or colleague, experienced a serious workplace accident or violent assault. Even the death of a loved one can be traumatic, depending on the circumstances.

Trauma can also stem from the nature of someone’s work. Perhaps they are repeatedly exposed to highly distressing situations as an emergency worker or train driver. Or maybe they have become vicariously traumatised through exposure to distressing stories, images or situations, as a social worker, newsreader or investigator.

To learn more about recognising trauma and supporting employees impacted by a traumatic event, join our free webinar, Understanding Trauma, on 17 June.

2. Who is most at risk?

Not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will become traumatised by it and not everyone exposed to trauma will go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder.

Trauma is highly individual, depending on the resilience and previous life experiences of the person affected. This makes it important not to make assumptions or dismiss one person’s distress because other people exposed are seemingly unaffected.

Anyone can be affected by trauma. Employees who have a history of previous trauma, repeated exposure to distressing events or limited support may be at greater risk of developing longer-term psychological difficulties.

3. What are the symptoms?

In the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event or critical incident at work, such as a serious accident, violent attack or death of a much-loved colleague, it can do more harm than good entering into a talking therapy too soon after the event.

Rather than encouraging them to relive the trauma, post-incident support should focus on helping them understand what their brain will be doing and should be doing. Without this insight, employees experiencing mood swings, nightmares, palpitations, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, hypervigilance and avoidance can feel like they’re going out of their mind.

By helping employees understand what to expect, you can reduce the anxiety and stigma associated with trauma symptoms. For many people these typically subside within four weeks. If symptoms persist or worsen after this, additional support may be needed, as this can indicate the development of a trauma-related mental health condition, such as PTSD.

4. What sort of support is helpful?

PTSD is a diagnosable mental health condition where trauma symptoms are starting to interfere with the individual’s daily life, relationships and ability to work. Those affected can feel like they’re living in two time zones, with one foot still in the incident. A paramedic who was unable to save a child may find working with children particularly distressing.

While talking can be helpful, repeatedly revisiting traumatic experiences without appropriate support may be unhelpful or distressing. Instead of traditional counselling, traumatised individuals may need specialist trauma support in a safe and controlled environment. This can help their brain recover the ability to live in the here and now.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) helps people process traumatic memories, in another part of the brain, so they become less distressing. This can help reduce flashbacks, nightmares and anxiety.
Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can reduce the risk of developing PTSD in the first place, by helping traumatised individuals identify the hotspots where they’re still stuck in the trauma. These can then be worked on to develop healthier responses, to significantly alleviate, or even remove symptoms.

5. How can you signpost people into support?

Trauma support should be built into your existing mental health policy, as part of your wider wellbeing strategy. An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) can be a useful starting point for individuals to get confidential support about whether they need further support.

If managers can see that someone is starting to struggle to fulfil their duties, or avoiding certain situations, equipment or people, they can refer the individual into occupational health for support with creating reasonable adjustments and treatment recommendations.

By making sure policies outline what support is available and signposting people into the right treatment, you can help maintain productivity and stop people falling out of work due to trauma. Those supported are also more likely to remain loyal to their organisation and better able to recognise trauma symptoms in others, to create a more caring workforce.

Nicola Jagielski is Clinical Director for PAM Group

To learn more about recognising trauma and supporting employees impacted by a traumatic event, join our free webinar, Understanding Trauma, on 17 June.

How can PAM Group help?

Our trauma support services are designed to reduce the risk of employees going absent with timely support to reduce the risk of lasting psychological damage:

Trauma therapy – reduce the risk of employees developing long-term intrusive symptoms that limit their ability to attend or perform at work, with specialist trauma CBT and EMDR

Structured professional support – provide employees working in industries associated with high levels of trauma to reflect on any symptoms and develop strategies to boost resilience.

Critical incident support – help employees exposed to a deeply distressing event understand symptoms and manage the psychological aftermath to reduce the risk of developing PTSD

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) – round the clock telephone and online access to BACP-accredited counsellors for emotional support and practical advice on managing trauma

Occupational Health – allow managers to refer employees impacted by symptoms of trauma into professional support for reasonable adjustments and advice on how best to support them

Pre-incident planning – support to understand how events with the power to distress employees could unfold and put appropriate policies and support plans in place in advance

For more information visit: pamgroup.co.uk