Your Employees are Reacting to World Events: What This Means for You

The world is a very troubled place right now.  Maybe it always is in one way or another.  However, it seems especially troubled right now.

As a mental health professional, I can say with certainty that I speak with someone every day about the emotions the current world situation is bringing up for them, as well as what it means for their performance at work.  I also recently published a book on finding closure, and this is a topic we also often discuss.  This can mean finding closure with friends, family members, and co-workers who think differently so they can air out what’s getting in the way of effective and productive communication and find a way to reset their relationship and move forward.

The ability to connect and move forward is especially important in the workplace, where organizations depend on teamwork to meet goals.

So, let’s start with how your employees may be feeling.

 What’s Going on with Your Employees?   

What’s going on?  In a word: stress.  Here are some of the causes of this stress:

• Divisiveness: We live in communities, states, and nations where we are feeling divided in numerous ways.  Politics.  Religion.  Culture.  We feel it in our daily interactions, we are exposed to it through the media.
• Helplessness and Uncertainty: Humans want to exercise control in their lives, and the current world situation makes many of us feel out of control.  Lack of control means living with uncertainty, and humans are wired to seek stability.  The world often feels anything but stable.  Where is the world going and what does this mean for me and my loved ones?
• Loneliness: Mental health professionals are talking more and more about loneliness.  Many of us are feeling a lack of connection with other humans.  We are feeling more and more isolated, due to factors such as lack of social interaction as well as feeling disconnected from those who think differently.  Loneliness impacts emotional and physical health, as well as the as the ability to engage fully in life.

Once more: the bottom line is stress.  And employees are bringing their stress to the workplace.

And What Does This Mean for the Workplace? 

My mental health clients often tell me that it is difficult at times to bring their full enthusiasm and attention to their jobs.  For a variety of reasons.  They have been exposed to news that was especially upsetting, bringing up the feelings I just described.  When you’re experiencing these feelings, it can be difficult to stay on your A-game at work.  They may be exposed to political or other differences with co-workers that they don’t know how to bridge, and this can affect teamwork.  Employees may also be emotionally burdened by the impact world events are having on their loved ones, which can also impact focus and motivation.

I suspect you have had the Stress 101 lectures.  So I will emphasize that we live in very high stress times.  As a leader, where does this leave you as you attempt to navigate these troubled waters and maintain a positive workplace culture?

What You Can Do?  

Here are some ideas to consider that can help in supporting employees and encouraging productivity:

• Encourage teamwork: Your employees have opinions, and they are most likely not all in agreement.  And many of your employees may just be generally feeling overwhelmed by world events.  You can help to encourage bridge-building through team-building.  This might include workshops, fun get-togethers like company-sponsored lunches or happy hours, teamwork workshops, as well as encouraging messages from executive management in company meetings or on the company Intranet.  Cite examples of teamwork and show appreciation!  The teamwork message will be most effective if it originates from executive management.  Focus on working together, showing mutual respect and kindness, and assumption of goodwill.
• Schedule a big event: Consider bringing a speaker who has a positive (non-political!) message.  An athlete, a local or national celebrity, a humanitarian.  Remind employees that the world is full of people who mean well and are taking action to do good in the world.  A speaker also conveys executive management’s intention to inspire employees.  Is it time for a fun, splashy, inspiring event at your company?  How about  an event based on kindness and compassion?
• Get the word out on mental health services: If you offer an employee assistance benefit plan (EAP), provide more visibility for your EAP.  Distribute handouts on stress and the importance of taking care of your mental health.  If you don’t offer an EAP, get the word out on the mental health hotlines as well as local mental health services.  Also consider setting up an information table outside of your company cafeteria with EAP handouts on mental health services.  Let employees know that you care about their wellness.
• Give back: Make a donation toward an organization that is focused on health, mental health, poverty, education, social injustice.   Make sure your employees are aware of your donation and why this organization is important to you.  You might invite a speaker from an organization you support to your big event.
• Create opportunities for your employees to give back: Find ways for employees to volunteer.  Opportunities might include mentoring local high school students, setting up a way to donate clothing or food, or even scheduling a day of helping in the community.  Giving back demonstrates a commitment to making the local community a better place.  Volunteering is a great team-building exercise.
• Be careful about making political statements: Everybody is entitled to have an opinion.  Including executive management.  Be careful about fanning the flames of political disagreements through statements you might make, even offhand and casually, in the presence of employees.  Keep in mind that statements you make in the presence of  employees, at any level of the organization, may later be attributed to you.  Political statements can result is some employees using your opinions as weapons in their discussions with other employees, for better or worse.  You might also request that employees not wear political statements to work, as a means of maintaining a positive work environment.

Shine a Light! 

Here are some words I am hearing more in the workplace: grace, patience, kindness, acceptance, compassion.  And here is the advice I am giving to my clients: You can’t change the world all at once, but you can contribute to change by shining a light into your corner – big or small – of the world.  After all, we are all in this together!

Written by Gary McClain Ph.D.
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