In the midst of the pandemic’s surge in India, it became difficult to find hospital beds even for the most sick. Frantic families called far and wide, worked connections, and prayed. Neuland Industries, a pharmaceutical company, knew it needed to do something to help its employees. Neuland provided direct medical assistance for employees and their families, and hired a service that would scour the country for hospital beds when the need was greater than could be provided onsite.
This is the fourth in a series on my LASER technique for working with those in trauma. In the first article, I discussed the importance of Listening. In the second, the equally important step of Acknowledging what you’ve heard. In the third, I talked about Sharing information. This article is on Empowerment.
Sometimes what those in trauma need is tangible support, like mental health services, security, flexible work options, and more. It’s worthwhile to know what options are available in your organization so that you can refer people to the help that they need. For instance, do you know what you would tell a colleague who told you that she feared her ex-boyfriend would be waiting for her outside when she left the office that day? If you don’t already know how to contact your office security personnel, find out. Put it in your phone. You don’t know when you might need that number. Finally, consider enacting or advocating for additional services to support those in need.
There are also community resources that can help in times of need. For instance, in the United States, 988 is the emergency mental health crisis line. Call or text 988 any time of day or night for free, trained mental health support. Other great resources to know are 311 for nonemergency police assistance, and 211 for referrals to community organizations. For more, see my list here.
Finally, while it’s important to provide the referrals that people need, we should also avoid taking over or pushing people into a course of action that we think they should take. Remember that they know more about what they need than we do. A great place to start is, “How can I help?” This step is called Empower because we want them to be able to take the steps that they want to take, on their own.
Conclusion
When we are able to provide support to people in times of crisis, we help individuals get the resources they need. We also build strong bonds of trust, both with us personally and with our organization as a whole. Consider the trust and loyalty that Neuland garnered through its vigorous support of its employees through the pandemic. When employers show up like this for their employees in times of need, the employees know that they are cared for, and employees who know they are cared for are more productive, creative, engaged, and loyal. That’s how to build long-term success.