Offering staff trauma-informed support amid unrest
How to meet staff’s emotional needs in a changing work landscape.
The COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest of 2020 forced leaders across all industries, including credit unions, to examine their trauma-informed services.
According to N’cho Behavioral Group Executive Director Hammad S. N’cho, a trauma-informed approach is crucial to creating a supportive work environment. It requires focusing on employees’ mental health when shaping policy.
“Being a leader at this highly unpredictable time comes with a great many questions and a great deal of stress,” he says. “Understanding how to be in the midst of a global pandemic is not at all clear,” says N’cho, who previously worked for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epidemic Intelligence Service and conducted disaster response while serving on the U.S. Navy’s Psychiatric Rapid Intervention Team. “Even with my outbreak and disaster response training, I was scared.”
The N’cho Behavioral Group and the Filene Research Institute studied practical steps to create healthy, sustainable work environments and allow staff to feel supported amid trauma exposure.
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