When employee mental health is impacted due to traumatic world events, employers can provide support by highlighting available resources and fostering a sense of community through employee resource groups, says Mark Harrison, founder of the MH3 Collective.
One prominent example is the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement situation in the U.S., which is impacting the mental health of Canadian employees who need to go across the border to do business, says Harrison. “It’s putting them on an alert they typically have never experienced before in terms of doing business in the U.S. What we’re seeing [in the news and online] is incredibly troublesome — seeing citizens shot, it’s obviously very nerve wracking, especially for people of colour.”
It’s crucial for employers to foster a sense of community in the workplace because employees are constantly connecting with each other about what’s happening in the world, he adds.
Read: Global employee engagement decreasing amid turbulent world events: survey
After the Tumbler Ridge shooting, Harrison saw multiple emails from leaders in the MH3 Collective and the Black Talent Initiative sharing mental-health resources to ensure employees and the community knew where they could find support.
“I think about what I’ve seen in our own companies with the Tumbler Ridge shooting — and now we have employees who have family and friends stranded in the Middle East. So it’s an ongoing [reality that employees will be affected by these fearful situations].”
Despite the pushback in the U.S. and Canada against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Harrison notes he’s seeing a lot of companies doubling down and supporting ERGs, likely related to their necessity during times like these.
“I think [ERGs] are incredibly beneficial because they provide a forum for people to have an open conversation and access resources they maybe didn’t know about. They can be in a space where they’re not worried that their rank or their tenure is going to be judged based on what they say. Even simple questions, for example, if you’re a person of colour and you’re being asked to go on a work trip to the U.S., [ERGs] give you an opportunity to ask, ‘Is this safe?’”
During these difficult times where employees might feel isolated, he says it’s also important to get people into the office to feel like they have a sense of community, which is sometimes missing when employees are working remotely.