Trauma, adverse childhood experiences, and the challenges of today’s complex world that affect our workplaces
70% of U.S. adults have experienced at least one traumatic event. Almost 20% of us have 4 or more of the 10 adverse childhood experiences that relate to trauma and increased risk of physical and mental health challenges. 5% of us have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Yet, when I asked a room of 500 human resource professionals if they had trauma-sensitive policies in place for this significant number of people, they looked at me like I had three heads. Furthermore, hours and hours of research and digging has shown that while we have begun to talk about healing our trauma, and might be talking about in regard to education or health providers there is just not much about trauma in our organizations.
We don’t discuss it. We sweep it under the rug. We are trauma-affected – oblivious to how trauma is impacting our employees, our businesses, and our world.
I want to change that.
This space will provide stories, research, ideas and more to help to break the silence on trauma response in the workplace and shine a light on the power of our humanness…because I truly believe that it is in the darkest places of our humanity that our highest potentials lie.
