27 September 2023

Duty of care: How to manage staff at times of mass violence

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Fatemeh Mashouf* advises managers to be mindful of how they respond to their staff’s needs at times of mass violence.


Photo: Mike Labrum

The morning after any kind of mass violence playing on loop on every media outlet poses unique challenges to employers and managers.

Not only can workplace conversations turn uncomfortable and potentially inappropriate, but trauma that is not adequately addressed can have a direct impact on workplace productivity.

How can an employer respond to emotional discussions while being sensitive to employees whose racial, religious, sexual, or ethnic identity was a focus of the underlying attacks and is a subject of media attention?

Many employers feel inadequately prepared; while sensing that silence leaves a vacuum in which conversations about the “news” may be awkward and result in misunderstanding or trample on sensitivities, they may not have thought about how to address such unfortunate situations.

Addressing the issue head-on can provide employees with the sense of support needed to prevent workplace disputes.

Here are some practical “Dos and Don’ts” to assist employers in navigating a response in the wake of domestic or international mass violence events.

Dos:

Reiterate the organisation’s policies against workplace violence, discrimination and harassment, encouraging employees to report any behaviour that violates policy.

Remind employees of the avenues available for reporting workplace violence, discrimination and harassment and the organisation’s non-retaliation policy.

Reinforce the organisation’s appreciation of its diverse workforce and its commitment to supporting employees of all ethnic, racial, religious, sexual, or other minority backgrounds.

If the organisation decides to send out an email to its workforce on the topic, to the extent that it is feasible, identify available resources for individuals to process the trauma, such as employee assistance programs, therapy services, hotlines, or other mental health resources.

Advise employees to exercise caution in social media posts.

Reach out to diversity experts and community leaders when in doubt on how responses should be formulated in a culturally sensitive manner.

Employ experts to provide sensitivity training to management.

Don’ts:

Don’t place any direct or indirect pressure on particular individuals or groups (i.e., racial group or affinity groups) to address the issue.

Don’t discourage, directly or indirectly, the use of personal time to deal with the aftermath of trauma.

Indeed, forcing non-essential employees to report to work when they are not ready to casually socialise could be a recipe for inappropriate conversation.

Do not forget that anniversaries of mass violence are triggers that reignite the underlying issues and concerns.

Just as 9/11 continues to have a rippling effect on social media and news outlets on an annual basis, be aware that anniversaries of other traumatic events may have a similar impact.

Do not simply cut/paste prior responses or responses by other organisations, which may come off as disingenuous.

Do not formulate diversity initiatives as a knee-jerk reaction.

Instead, be thoughtful and, if needed, consult with others who have successful diversity committees, events, or groups to learn how to authentically encourage diversity.

Take the time to get it right.

Do not forget that if the perpetrator of the underlying violent event is of a particular racial, political, religious or other identifiable group, employees who also belong to that group may similarly need support in dealing with workplace issues.

Thus, any response should be carefully tailored to address sensitivities that may arise among employees whose backgrounds correlate with both the victims of violence as well as the background of the perpetrator of violence.

It cannot be overstated that any response to mass violence should be carefully and specifically tailored to address both the unique circumstances of the event as well as the particular needs of the workforce.

* Fatemeh S. Mashouf is an Associate at Littler Mendelson PC.

This article first appeared at www.littler.com.

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