Survivors of childhood trauma reveal the support needed from workplaces

Dr Stefanos Nachmias

"Survivors shared with me that past experiences and a lack of trust in the organisational approach to dealing with disclosures meant that they would rather leave an organisation than disclose their trauma, for fear of what the consequences might be.

“Workplaces need to be a psychologically safe space for survivors, but I found that there’s confusion as to who is responsible for providing support. The organisation itself, health professionals or the survivors themselves? However, the answer is straightforward. It is a collective effort to develop an approach that offers survivors an appropriate level of support.”

Stephanie Hunter, a social worker, author, trainer and therapist, took part in the research, having experienced trauma due to the deaths of her father and young brother. She said: “Trauma and adverse childhood experiences are in fact not uncommon. I know this from research and the national and international training I deliver and how many delegates seek me out in person and by email to share experiences. What is not available is a consistency in terms of responses to professionals, which are trauma informed and would lead to improvements in productivity and less time in workplace absence, but it is the human cost which pains me. More organisations absolutely need to be trauma informed.

“This research is a positive step forward. In terms of my experience contributing and, for the first time, acknowledging experiences in a professional arena, whilst those involved were warmth and empathic it was not without its sadness. I think we should all work towards enabling authenticity, safely at work and reduced shame cultures to strength based and relational practice models, enabling more recognition of courage and strength.”

The study recommends that supporting trauma requires several organisational, operational and management actions to address individual needs. This support covers a number of complex areas including policy development, staff development, workload, disclosure, communication, performance, and other wider employment practices.

A guide for workplaces has been produced following the study and outlines several practices that organisations should consider at different levels. These include:

• Place trauma into welfare and wellbeing agenda as a strategic dimension and not a single approach to manage welfare.
• Recognise the importance of supporting trauma survivors in the workplace and create the infrastructure for an integrated, individualised and targeted approach to support.
• Replace high reliance on HR policy and wellbeing strategy with a more personalised approach based on the individual needs.
• Address high level of anxiety to talk about the trauma and whether their organisation offer a balanced support mechanism.
• Improve confidence to offer direct support to individuals who disclose trauma by effectively managing line management processes.
• Consider legal requirements, however, this should be followed by extensive training and development on how to support survivors at different stages. This is because legal requirements only apply for those with a diagnosis. Many survivors do not have a diagnosis, but trauma manifests at work. The process should avoid re-traumatisation.
• Seek external support when knowledge in the area is poor and identify best practices.
• Remove activities and avoid making decisions based on personal experience. Any decision to support trauma at work should be only delivered via professional knowledge emerged from specific training and development activities.

For further information and to download the guide visit the project website.

The research is supported by Dr Maria Karanika-Murray, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Dr Nadia Kougiannou, Senior Lecturer, Nottingham Business School and Lynn Miles, Senior Lecturer, Teesside University.

[i] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/childabuseinenglandandwales/january2020