Dealing With Traumatic Events In The Workplace

Boy it’s HOT! So, today’s post will be a short one.

The following information comes from the Vancouver Civic Employees Assistance Program. This EAP provides information to help Vancouver City employees deal with a variety of issues both within and outside their workplace.

Sometimes we experience traumatic events (also known as critical incidents) in the workplace. If we are “lucky” we have access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or other helping professionals.

Unfortunately not everyone has access to these resources and so it is up to all of us to be aware of what we can do if the situation warrants it.

Are you prepared to deal with “critical incidents” in your workplace? 

Critical incidents are traumatic events such as a death or a shocking accident that is experienced directly (for example, being an eye witness).

Traumatic events can also be experienced indirectly whens someone learns about the sudden death or a loved one, friend or colleague.

What can you do if someone close to you is suffering from the ill effects of a traumatic situation?

Here are some suggestions to guide you:

• Learn about critical stress so you can begin to understand what the other person is experiencing. If you know what to expect, it will be easier for you to be supportive.
• Be available to listen. This is probably the most important thing you can do.
• Reassure them that it is okay to show strong emotions. Crying helps the healing process.
• Be aware that not everyone will express emotions. Some people might try to numb their thoughts and feelings with alcohol and/or drugs. Not a good idea.
• Encourage them to eat regular meals, sleep, exercise and try to relax.
• The most common form of reaction following a critical incident is the “trigger response”. Any sight, sound, smell, or touch that is similar to what the person experienced may “trigger” a physical, mental or emotional reaction.
• Be alert for signs of depression, anxiety or sleep deprivation and talk to them about it.
• Help them reach out to a helping professional (psychologist, social worker, nurse, physician, counsellor, chaplain etc.)

Here are some things not to do:

• Don’t tell them they are ”lucky it wasn’t worse”.
• Don’t downplay or judge the symptoms.
• Don’t expect the person to get over their trauma quickly.

The symptoms are real and treatment and recovery takes time.

Take care! Lesley   

Ways to Leave Your Lousy Job Continued…

Goodmorning, here are some final ideas for those of you wanting to leave the job that you are in…compliments of Jon Spayde:

11. JOB HUNT WITH EVERYONE: Tell everyone you come in contact with that you are looking for another job. It might help if you are clear on what you want. Focus, focus, focus!

The following quote from Jon could easily have come from the writers of The Secret:

“Make yourself alert for, and receptive to, help from odd corners and unlikely people.”

This speaks to the power of flow. In order for this to work you have to know what you want, you have to be OPEN to receiving, you have to have integrity and you have to be grateful for what you’ve got.

You might want to read a great book on this subject which is called, “The Power of Flow: Practical Ways to Transform Your Life With Meaningful Coincidence by Charlene Belitz and Meg Lundstrom.

12. LOSE THE BLUE-COLLAR COMPLEX: Everyone is equal here. Everyone deserves to be happy and to have work that is fulfilling and pays well. If you grew up in a blue-collar family as I did don’t let this hold you back.

You can do anything you want to!

It’s never too late to go back to school. I was the first person in my entire family to attend university. I started late and obtained not one but two degrees.

Numerous successful and extremely rich people do not have advanced education. Perhaps going to university gets in the way???

13. DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL LIFE: Remember, spirituality and religion and not one and the same. You can have a strong spiritual life without joining a religious group.

You’ll have your own definition of spirituality. Here is one from the website Workplace Spirituality:

“Spirituality comes from an inner core self that exists beyond the mind’s survival instincts and programed beliefs and values. It is the source that influences us to behave with passion, understanding, empathy, humility, compassion and love.”

So, if your workplace can’t be healed and it is time to leave be kind to yourself and take those first three tiny steps towards a new future.

Lesley

13 Ways to Leave Your Lousy Job!

Hello there, I thought I’d finish the post that I started yesterday. The following 13 ways to leave your lousy job (which I have modified slightly) come from an article written in 1999 by Jon Spayde:

1.  THINK BIG: You have a right to happiness and (this is what I tell my coaching clients) although big goals are hard work they have the power to motivate you to make big changes.

2.  BE PREPARED TO CREATE YOUR OWN JOB: This is the fun part! Creating your own job (aka self employment) may not be as difficult as it seems. I’m going to refer you to two books on the subject:

• Creating You & Co: Learning to Think Like the CEO of Your Own Career by William Bridges and,
• We Are All Self-Employed: The New Social Contract for Working in a Changing World by Cliff Hakim.

I’m not sure where you live but if you live in British Columbia there are lots of resources for people wanting to become self employed. Here are two that I have used:

Successful Contracting & Consulting. “Over a 10 day period SCC will teach you how to launch a consulting or contracting career”. The best part of all…if you are accepted into the program…it’s FREE!

Small Business B.C. This is a super site for anyone interested in starting a business or in growing a business. Lots of free stuff and cheap workshops and courses.

Finally, if you are eligible for Employment Insurance or have received Employement Insurance in the past 3 years you can apply for one of the Self Employment Programs (you’ll have to do your own research…try Googling Self Employment Programs in B.C.)

3. LIST YOUR TRUEST VALUES: Jon provides the following exercise:

Recall your life’s two or three best moments–when you did what you wanted and were utterly happy, at one with the cosmos, in the groove, fulfilled. Write them down in detail, on paper. These moments will give you clues as to what is really, really important to you…what you value most. What was it that made these moments so memorable???

4. LOOK OVER THE LIST DAILY: Put your list where you can see it or take it with you and read it often. It’s not actually a list but you get the gist.

5. TAP THE POWER OF IMAGES: Create a vision of your dreams. Create a vision board. You’ll find instructions on how to do this in the book The Secret.

6. MAKE FIRM COMMITMENTS: This is called self-accountability!

7. TAKE A SMALL STEP EVERYDAY: Here’s some advice from Jana Stanfield!

To reach a goal you’ve been dreaming of, break it down into the first three tinest steps. The steps have to be SO EASY that you couldn’t possibly fail at accomplishing them in your busiest week.

You don’t have to know exactly where you are going or how to get there.

When you get to the third baby step the next three will appear!

8. CULTIVATE CALM AND ACCEPTANCE: This is a direct quote from Jon…”this is worth a try for several reasons. First of all, a calm-as-possible approach to your less-than-perfect job, with an eye toward being of service to your colleagues, may change your mind about leaving in the first place. Not bloody likely? OK, then, it will minimize stress and conserve precious energey while you look for the next gig.”

9. CONVENE A WISE PERSONS GROUP: These groups are often called Master Mind Groups. You can find out how by googling mastermind groups OR you can purchase an ebook called The Magic of the Mastermind from Master Certified CoachTeresia.

10. INTERVIEW INTERESTING PEOPLE: Seek out people who are doing what you want to do and talk to them. I had an email this week from someone interested in the work that I do. It is VERY flattering. When you call people you can ask them the following:

• how they got where they are today
• what they like and don’t like about what they do
• how they spend their day

OK…I think that’s enough for one day…I’ve got to go and do some vacuuming.  I’ll tell you the other ways to leave your lousy job tomorrow.

Hang in there! Lesley

How to Leave Your Lousy Job!

Hi there, it is around 3 pm on a sunny Sunday afternoon here on the Pacific West Coast.

Today I’ve been doing a little reading about “Good Work”.

I first came across this concept in the February 1999 issue of Utne Reader. The focus for that issue was Good Work: Find Your Way To A Job That Matters.

The cover section included an article on ”breaking the job lock” and another one on “hot jobs”.  There was even an article called “How to Think Outside the Cube: 13 ways to leave your lousy job” which I will come back to in a minute.

Because “Good Work” was the main theme of the magazine I decided to do a “google search” to see what would come up.

I discovered that since 1995, when the Good Work Project was first conceived, researchers have been studying and writing about the notion of “good work” in professions and professionals.

This is a project or should I say collaboration between Claremont Graduate University, Harvard University and Stanford University.

“Good Work” in this context is defined as,

 “work that is at once excellent in quality, responsive to the needs of the broader community, and personally meaningful.”

Enjoying or experiencing “good work” is of course not solely the purview of professionals and I’m not exactly sure why this group was chosen for study.

Given the “right” circumstances any of us can enjoy “good work” and if fact it should be a basic human right.

Unfortunately there are millions of people in our world who are struggling to find work, any work, that will enable them to feed themselves and their families. In an ideal world these people would also have work that paid a decent wage and allowed them to live happy and dignified lives.

Unfortunately we do not live in an ideal world!

Closer to home thousands of people are looking for work. Fortunately for those of us living in North America there are some social safety nets and few people go without shelter, food and water.

And on the other side of the continuum we have people who are working–many with good paying jobs–who are miserable and given the “right” circumstances would gladly give up their jobs and do something else.  

Which brings us back to the article “How to Think Outside the Cube: 13 ways to leave your lousy job” by Jon Spayde.

The following 13 ideas are for people wanting to find or create ”good work”:

1.  THINK BIG: You have a right to happiness and (this is what I tell my coaching clients) although big goals are hard work they have the power to motivate you to make big changes.

2.  BE PREPARED TO CREATE YOUR OWN JOB: The exciting thing about entrepreneurship is that it is not limited to developed countries. In fact helping people in developing countries to create their own work (businesses) is the only way to help them end the poverty cycle.

I did some research on this subject for a speech I gave at Toastmasters a few months ago. I was surprised by the results.

About 70 billion dollars is spent annually on aid to people in developing countries but the problem of poverty is getting worse.

 In fact although those of us in developed countries believe that we are doing good we are actually making matters worse. Creating dependency. Reinforcing the cycle of poverty.

Microcredit or micro financing began in the 1970s in India. It was created by an economics professor named Muhammad Yunus. Who, by the way, won the 2006 Nobel Peace prize for his work.

 In the 1970s Muhammad was frustrated by the poor conditions of the people living in the villages and their lack of access to small amounts of capital to improve their lives.

He lent a group of women basket weavers $5.00 each to buy supplies for their businesses.  This was the beginning of the Grameen Bank (village bank). Today the Grameen Bank provides over 2 million loans a year and 10,000 people graduate out of poverty every month through a self-help philosophy that maintains self-worth and dignity.

Now the Grameen Bank only operates in India but there is another organization–Kiva–that makes it possible for people in other countries to receive small (micro) loans.

If you want to learn more or to help out check out www.kiva.org

Remember the Chinese proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Anyway, I think I used up enough of your time today. I will continue with the 13 ways to leave your lousy job later in the week.

Cheers! Lesley

Growing Workplace Disloyalty?

Hi there, yesterday I learned about an Ipsos Reid survey about “growing workplace disloyalty”.

This Canadian study found…

“22 percent of Canadian employees expressing decreased loyalty to their employer. In organizations where salaries have been frozen, that figure rises to 31 percent.

Where staff has been cut, it goes up again to 36 percent.”

Apparently there is a lot of fear in the workplace. This is being felt by both employers and employees.

The Ipsos Reid study goes on to say,

“Growing disloyalty is occurring right across the board, from workers on the ground to executives and managers.”

I guess I’m wondering why this is such a big deal. Loyalty to employers and to employees has been declining for about fifty years in North America.

Long gone are the days when people stayed with the same organization for most of their lives, worked hard, and were rewarded with a “job for life” and a pension at the end of it all.

The world has changed. People move around from city to city and from country to country. Our values have changed. We don’t trust the corporation any more.

In fact trust (or should I say lack of trust) in the workplace is a huge issue that I have written about in other posts and will continue to write about in future.

Trust and loyalty go hand-in-hand.

So, things are a bit of a mess. What to do? What to do?

Well, Canwest News, the newspaper that ran the story about workplace disloyalty, did have a couple of suggestions:

• employers must acknowledge and recognize employees for the work that they do
• employers must involve employees in decision-making and problem solving (real not token)

Finally, Lorraine Weygman comments, “How do we make sure we engage our employees?”

Good question Lorraine. 

I’ll leave you with this to think about.

In B. C. the Vancouver Coastal Health Region has been busy firing people without cause. A number of these people worked in the “Employee Engagement” department.

So, if the Employee Engagement department is downsized because the work that  it does is no longer valued what does it become? What becomes of the important work of engaging the employees?

It certainly doesn’t sound like the Employee Engagment department anymore, does it?

Have a nice day and be nice to the people in the Employee Engagement (aka Human Resources) department. They probably have the worst job of all of us.

Take care!

Lesley

How To Be A Good Boss In A Bad Economy

HI!

I “stole” the title of today’s blog post from the Harvard Business Review. Pretty cheeky I know.

The article I was reading…”How to Be a Good Boss In a Bad Economy” is in the June 2009 edition of the HBR.

A couple of things struck me as interesting:

First, the author, Robert I. Sutton, writes about the challenges that “bosses” face in today’s tough economic climate.

Let’s face it. There are some pretty nasty bosses out there.

BUT there are also a lot of really great bosses who are trying their best. Best of all the old models of management and leadership are changing. 

Second, Robert Sutton shares some practice wisdom for leaders who have the difficult task of laying off employees:

1. Help people (as much a possible) predict what will happen.

2.  Help people to understand what is happening.

3. Provide people with some sense of control.

4.  Be compassionate!

Sutton is also quoted as saying:

“The sign of a great boss: bosses who increase predictability, understanding, control, and compassion for their people will allow employees to accomplish the most in a time of anxiety–and will earn their deep loyalty.”

Compassion is something that I would expect from an organization espousing spiritual values. I find it rather interesting that compassion is now finding its way into the lexicon of corporate America.

Check out this site for a more detailed look at the subject of compassion in the workplace:

www.compassionlab.org/docs/whatgoodiscompassion.pdf

Cheers,

Lesley

The Time Has Come For Changes In The Workplace

Hi there, today I’m going to write about Corporate Social Responsibility. 

Two recent posts to healing the workplace got me thinking about how organizations change and why:

One person wrote that she had discovered that her boss was “untrustworthy and unethical” and the other person wrote “the lack of jobs in the U.S.A. has bosses thinking that they can overwork and emotionally and mentally abuse employees and (sadly) nothing appears to have been done to stop this.”

I think that when these things are happening to you it seems like nothing can be done and that this is happening to everyone, everywhere.

I know, I’ve been there and it is a not a very good place to be.

Unfortunately there are abusive and unethical bosses. It is a fact of life.

If you work for one of these you have to make some difficult choices about whether you stay or whether you leave your job.

Sometimes you can’t leave the situation immediately because you need the job. If this is the case you need to find ways to look after yourself AND you need to start looking for another job.

But on the macro level…if we look at the big picture in North America (and this is where I segue into Corporate Social Responsibility) I believe that we are seeing a shift in how organizations operate and how they treat their employees.

Corporate Social Responsibility is not a new idea. In fact an early proponent of CSR was the American industrialist Andrew Carnegie.

CSR has been debated and discussed in one form or another through-out the 20th century.

It has only really “taken off” in the past 30 + years.

So, what is CSR and what has it got to do with how employees are treated in the workplace?

Here’s a definition of CSR from a 2002 article in the South China Morning Post:

“The notion of companies looking beyond profits to their role in society is generally termed corporate social responsibility (CSR).

 It refers to a company linking itself with ethical values, transparency, employee relations, compliance with legal requirements and overall respect for the communities in which they operate.

It goes beyond the occasional community service action, however, as CSR is a corporate philosophy that drives strategic decision-making, partner selection, hiring practices, and ultimately brand development.”

CSR is more than the “right thing to do” from a moral and ethical perspective.

There is firm evidence that businesses that adopt a CSR approach do just as well or better financially than businesses that don’t adopt this approach.

I am also certain that CSR is more likely to be adopted by businesses in more affluent countries where people have a choice about where they work and where they spend their hard earned income.

This is reflected in North America by the choices made by the “baby boomers” and more recently by generations x and y whose values line up with those of organizations that embody the values of CSR.

The recent economic crisis, that began in America and resulted in massive economic upheaval around the world, has resulted in a growing demand for transparency and a renewed focus on the “triple bottom line”–people, profits and the planet.

People, otherwise known as employees, are key organizational stakeholders.

Organizations that recognize this and treat employees as “having a stake” in the organization are on the rise.

Have you read the book “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell? If you haven’t you should because what Malcolm has to say is VERY interesting:

“The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.”

CSR is at a threshold…and there is no going back.

As you have probably figured out by now I am an optimist and I see the glass as half full.

 I firmly believe that there will be a continued shift toward organizations that are socially responsible.

Bye for now!

Healing the Workplace BEFORE and After Layoffs

Happy Canada Day! If you are living in Canada you may be fortunate to have the day off today and so hopefully you won’t be thinking about work.

Or perhaps you have been laid off recently or are in the unenviable position of having to layoff employees sometime in the future.

Since the economy tanked last fall, hundreds of thousands of people have “lost” their jobs in countries around the world.

Recently I received my “Toastmasters Magazine” in the mail. As an aside I have found Toastmasters International to be a great organization for helping  me to development public speaking skills. 

What do most people think about when they hear the word Toastmasters?

They probably think about public speaking. BUT, if you join the organization, Toastmasters will also help you develop a range of communication AND leadership skills.  

Now, what was I talking about? Oh yes, healing the workplace “before and after layoffs”.

In the most recent issue of the Toastmaster, David Zielinski has written an article called, “Talking Through Tough Times at Work: The value of communication after company layoffs.”

In my experience there are lots of reasons why people are laid off: mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, outsourcing, and closing of businesses are just a few.

Sometimes the organization has no lead time but sometimes the layoffs are part of a “planned change” and the organization has months or even years to plan and organize the layoffs.

A few books have been written in the past two decades to help people in organizations cope with layoff “survivors”:

• Healing the Wounds: Overcoming the Trauma of Layoffs and Revitalizing Downsized Organizations by David Noer.
• Charging Back Up the Hill: Workplace Recovery After Mergers, Acquisitions and Downsizing by Mitchell Marks.

It is important to support the “survivors” following layoffs.

But HOW you let people go is just as vital because the people who remain in the organization–the “survivors” will be watching this process closely.

Everything that the organization does during the time leading up to the layoffs will be put “under the microscope” so to speak.

You can begin the healing process before you actually layoff, fire or displace anyone and it will make it much easier for everyone post-layoff.

What can you do?

Well, years ago I worked for Providence Health Care (PHC) in Vancouver, B.C. This was during a time of ongoing change which included the outsourcing of the housekeeping and dietary departments AND the closing of two hospitals.

In my opinion what PHC did well was to really think about how the organization would care for people who were being “displaced”. 

This was the term that PHC used to describe people who were losing their jobs.

Here is a sample of the things that PHC did to help employees who were being displaced:

• worked with the major unions (it was a highly unionized organization)
• created a timeline so that people would know exactly what was to occur when.
• povided options for people with years of seniority (e g posting into unfilled vacant positions)
• provided information about retirement for those in a position to take early retirement
• provided information about employment insurance (EI), benefits and sick time
• provided assistance finding another job (working with community agencies)
• provided funding for retraining
• provided on-site classes on how to seek employment (interviewing tips, job search strategies, resume writing)

Wait there’s more!

Providence Health Care also offered the following services:

• employee and family assistance program
• cummulative critical incident stress management
• occupational health and safety nurses
• spiritual care workers
• human resources specialists

Leaders were also provided with information and support during this process.

Finally, the organization communicated, communicated and communicated to ensure that all employees knew and understood what was happending, when it was going to happen, who would be affected AND what support was available to those who needed it.

Of course, support was offered to the “survivors” but the healing began long before the “displacements” happened. 

Lesley