Bringing Trauma to Work
Bringing Trauma to Work
JobsWork MKE
The labor shortage.If you’re like many employers, you’re having a hard time filling jobs.You might find yourself taking chances on candidates you would not have considered before – people with spotty job histories, who have been in and out of the workforce. People we know well at JobsWork MKE.We’re a nonprofit that works with the Milwaukee area’s hardest-to-employ population – helping them find, and keep, jobs. Helping them break the cycle of poverty.We’ve learned the No.1 reason they have not yet achieved sustained employment – the “root barrier” to their success – is trauma: the emotional and physical damage caused by traumatizing events of their past and present.Now, these new hires are bringing their trauma to your workplace.That might sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. As the saying goes, knowledge is power. That’s why we’ve created this podcast. We want to help you understand the nature of trauma, how it can impact your employees, and how you can support them in practical, realistic ways – without interrupting normal operations.The goal: you get productive, resilient employees and reduced turnover. The employees get the chance to transform their lives through ongoing work in a supportive environment.It's the proverbial "win-win." As one trauma expert told us, “The safer and more relaxed your employees feel, the better everything gets at your company or organization.”
Part 5: What you can do
Tips for creating a trauma-informed workplace -- without disrupting your normal operations.
Oct 5, 2023
12 min
Part 4: Behavior on the job
How the effects of trauma might show up on the job as "unusual" behaviors. What supervisors can look for, and understand in new ways.
Oct 5, 2023
8 min
Part 3: How the brain changes
An easy-to-understand explanation of the science of trauma. How it not only changes how you act, but changes the structure of your brain.
Oct 5, 2023
6 min
Part 2: Living with Trauma
One man shares his story of childhood trauma -- and how it continues to haunt him decades later.
Oct 5, 2023
5 min
Part 1: What is Trauma?
How to define it. Where it comes from. Why it's so widespread.
Oct 5, 2023
11 min