When Tragedy Strikes: How to Support Mental Health Needs in the Workplace

Viewing tragic events through the impact they have on people isn’t a new concept — finding this level of empathy is a struggle as old as civilization. But while there’s nothing new about the idea of a tragedy, there is something to be said about how the information age has increased the speed, frequency, and amplitude of bad news to an unprecedented point.

Thanks to technology, we’re constantly informed about new threats and crises of every kind and size, whether we want to be or not. And while it isn’t always easy to recognize how deeply your employees’ mental health is being affected by tragic events, there’s no excuse for thinking it isn’t. Even if a majority of your people keep silent about what’s going on in the news, it’s likely to have an impact on their ability to focus or be productive. Research shows that frequent exposure to troubling news creates a cycle of negative emotions that contributes to burnout, depression, and anxiety.

HR can’t control the news cycle, but as guardians of the employee experience, HR leaders have an obligation to help mitigate the impact of tragedies and support employees so they feel safe. To guide you through some potentially delicate conversations, we’ve compiled a list of practical strategies for supporting employees in the workplace as they process tragic events.

How Can Managers Support Employees?

Here are six ways HR managers and team managers can help employees cope when tragedy strikes:

1. Ask Questions

If your team is distributed, your first priority after a tragedy should be to reach out to those employees who are in closest proximity to the occurrence. If you can, the best way to show concern is to contact them individually to determine what they’re in need of most.

Proximity doesn’t only mean physical distance, either. Consider, for example, how parents of schoolchildren everywhere are affected by news of yet another school shooting, or how news about racially motivated violence in one city feels to people of color nationwide. How you respond to events like these and more should take emotional proximity into account too.

If you’re finding employees are reluctant to discuss their feelings with you, consider sending an anonymous survey or opening a suggestion box. You may learn things that employees weren’t ready to share at the time, or that they felt too vulnerable to share in person.

2. Share Resources

When employees are going through an emotionally difficult time, they may not have the bandwidth to navigate their way to mental health resources, even if those resources seem readily available. This is the time when HR can step in and offer help, but as you do so, focus on solutions that can offer immediate relief. For instance, HR can give employees information for the company's employee assistance program, which is specifically equipped to give quick, short-term support.

Additionally, look for ways to give aid proactively and broadly. Some examples include:

• Providing emergency numbers and websites that offer mental health services
• Sharing health insurance liaison information
• Reminding employees about mental health resources your company already offers

Tragic events can easily overwhelm people, so providing gentle reminders can help employees ground themselves and realize support is closer than they may realize.

3. Provide Mental Health Breaks

Consistent exposure to tragedy is draining. Some of your employees will likely have difficulty processing their work responsibilities if they’re preoccupied with the emotional fallout of a catastrophe. So let empathy lead and recognize that employees always benefit from a mental health break.

But even the concept of a “break” has evolved recently. For many of us, home is now also the office, and feeling like we’re always “on” can accelerate burnout. In addition to encouraging employees to use their paid time off, normalizing flexible workplace practices and taking breaks throughout the workday can help employees emotionally regulate and regain perspective.

That could look like:

• Flexible start or end times to the workday
• Flexible scheduling, e.g., four-day options or an every-other-Friday-off routine
• Floating mental health days
• A gym membership or other health-related stipend
• In-person and/or virtual group meditation breaks

One thing to consider is making these changes permanent, not temporary or unexpected. Otherwise, you risk bringing what the company perceives as a “worthy-enough tragedy” into the equation, and that gets messy fast. Plus, it might not be feasible to give everyone the afternoon off when there's a tragedy, so the next best thing is to build plenty of flexibility and space into your permanent policy.

4. Encourage a Culture of Listening

A culture of active listening starts at the top. Ensure your employees feel supported by training managers to model open and empathetic communication. Here are some ways leadership can create space for employees to express their anxieties:

• Begin meetings by acknowledging the tragedy and see where the conversation goes.
• Simply ask your team how they’re feeling, which shows them you’re aware and you care.
• Set aside time to let your team freely discuss how difficult it is to work in the midst of chaos and uncertainty.
• Gather ideas from them about what kind of support would be most useful.

Remind managers to approach these conversations with compassion and attentiveness and to allow room for the conversation to flow in a healthy, expressive direction.

5. Promote Action

The role you play as an HR professional during times of crisis is so important. It’s a chance to take action and offer support as a leader in your organization.

Here are a few tips to help you support your employees in their efforts to feel more involved:

• Research the organizations that are accepting donations and compile a list of ways your employees can contribute.
• Invite your employees to share their resources or connections and create a running list of ways to help.
• Consider shopping for personal care items and mailing them to helpers on the front lines of the event.
• Organize a donation match with help from leadership.

No matter the tragedy, there are always people who need help or who need resources to be able to help those in crisis. By donating either time or money as a team, your employees can feel like they’re making a difference. That shift from helplessness to action can be a powerful tool in helping people cope with the turmoil around them.

6. Prioritize Your Company’s Workload

In the face of tragedy, it’s crucial to identify what tasks need to be done to keep the business running and which ones can be temporarily put on hold to allow employees to tend to their wellbeing. If possible, assign the former to those not directly affected by the tragedy if they have the bandwidth. Also, adjust deadlines where possible and recognize that some employees may need a lighter workload and more time to heal.

Build Resilience Together

While there’s no predicting what kind of tragedy might come next, we know with certainty that something will happen. And while we can’t stop bad things from happening, HR pros can alleviate the impact tragic events have on employees and help guide their teams through the healing process.

Listen to your employees, create space for them to talk and to heal, give them the resources they need, and help them take action. These simple measures will go far to support your employees on an individual level, which, in turn, helps your entire workforce become more resilient.