A gentleman I know in town is a counselor who has developed a practice working with veterans suffering from Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Being a vet himself, he understands some of what these heroic soldiers are going through. Over time he helps them find a voice for their feelings, knowing that talking through these issues can support their healing. He told me once: “Mark, my job is to help them get these feelings out in the open. All that stuff is bottled up in there, and it’s going to come out. It can come out in a productive way, or it can come out sideways– either way, it’s going to come out.”
Our employees may not be in harms way like the soldiers my friend helps, but we can gain insight from his approach to helping them deal with their stress. Like him, we can acknowledge two things– that our employees are stressed, and that one way or another it’s going to come out.
- What can we do to help our team members express their concerns about this current economic crisis in a productive way?
- With whom can we help them connect?
- What do we need to do to help our supervisors be more effective at listening to the needs of their employees?
As we continue to work through these difficult economic times let’s work to help stress from “coming out sideways”.
Mark Hirschfeld 
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