Building resilience and supporting your employees in a global crisis

The world is changing and becoming more unpredictable.

2 years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and spread to almost every territory around the globe. Big cities were under unprecedented lockdowns. Tourism and the airline industry were paralyzed. People were forced to live in prolonged isolation. Many businesses went bankrupt, many people found themselves lost and confused. Businesses underwent many transformations regarding working style and adopted new technologies to adapt to the new remote work practice. 

Just when we thought that the burden of the pandemic has eased off, and life was somehow flourishing into a new normal, another war and violence took over the world, causing more fear, worries, instabilities, and unpredictability. The global media keyword changed from “infection” to “inflation”.

We are living in a planetary crisis

It is true. No one can stay out of this global multifaceted crisis.

Climate change, unpredictable diplomatic moves, frightening arm conflicts, high inflation levels across the continents, and scarcity of energy and food are all threatening us with a whole new level of humanitarian crisis. The workforce is also affected by the disruption in industrial supply chains.  All of these are putting significant strains on organizations and their employees. People have heightened concern about jobs and financial security, and they are more susceptible to burnout and stress. For certain underrepresented groups, the impact is worse.

Even with these situations we still see hope, growth, and the willingness to do better. During difficult situations, it is also important for leaders and organizations to address the concerns, fears, and worries of their employees, and have a strategy to support their people.

Role of a DEI strategy during a crisis?

DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) should be your top priority to help your employees and help your company overcome difficult situations. We have seen that inclusive teams are better at tackling challenges and supporting each other during a crisis. Having a robust DEI strategy prepares your company to survive and thrive during a crisis and in normal times. Inclusive leadership and a transformative communication strategy play an important role in building up resilience for your employees and organization.

How can companies support their people during a crisis situation?

Creating a DEI strategy tied to your company strategy is the best way to ensure long-term impact in developing your company culture that would be beneficial in the face of any crisis situation. You can start developing and enhancing your DEI strategy with a step-by-step process and prioritize the support for your people during difficult times. 

Here are a few things you can begin with to support your employees during a crisis:

Active listening

Being lonely while working remotely during the pandemic or providing services from a war-struck region, it is essential for the company to listen to their employees when a crisis situation hits. More than ever, communication plays a key role in making sure that the people are taken care of. 

• Reach out to your employees to understand if they need any additional support.
• Make sure you use diverse platforms to make it easy for people to communicate their needs. For example, some people prefer to share their feelings or issues in person or via call, while some people might prefer a more discreet way of asking for help.
• Make it easy and approachable for people to communicate. 

Peer support groups

While active listening is key, some individuals might not be ready to communicate during a difficult situation. To support different situations, you can set up peer support groups. Make sure, the support groups are always facilitated by professionals or trained practitioners to ensure the psychological safety of employees who would like to open up with others. Make it voluntary for people to join these groups, but ensure that the information is accessible and the process easy. Support groups could also be made internally by individuals going through similar situations and willing to share their experiences. It is important to remember support group initiatives must be during working hours to ensure everyone could benefit from them.

Open discussion platforms

Especially during times of fear, uncertainty, and worry, it is essential for leaders to create open discussion platforms to address such concerns. Bringing the situation to the table and finding the solutions together, help the teams to bond and support each other navigate during a crisis time. Make sure, that the discussion platforms are honest, vulnerable, and yet solution-oriented.

Mental health initiatives

As per World Health Organization, close to 1 billion people in the world are living with some mental health disorder, around 3 million people die of substance abuse each year and one person dies every 40 seconds from suicide. These numbers have gotten worse with the pandemic and the current situations, making it one of the most important areas to be focused on in the world and in our organizations. 

It is, therefore, essential to promote healthy workplace practices and support employee well-being. There are many initiatives that companies can take to support employees’ well-being and mental health. For example:

• Ensuring safe and healthy workplace practices
• Creating supporting policies like no discrimination and harassment in the workplace, sick leave policies for mental health issues, policies to support parents, caregivers, and so on
• Easily and widely accessible information about the available mental health and well-being support for people (including anonymous support) 
• Promoting healthy work-life balance
• Creating inclusive workplaces

Building resilience skills within employees and developing an overall inclusive culture

Resilience skills are lifesaving for us during a global crisis. Many people are still in shock by the chains of events happening in the last over 2 years.  How do you help your employees build up their resilience and overcome their challenges?

The answer is: An inclusive culture can be a powerful driver of resilience, for both employees and the organization itself.

For employees, developing resilience skills include goals like:

• Optimism and hope during hard times
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Self-awareness, mindfulness, and protected wellbeing (mental and physical health)

In order to achieve these goals, employees might benefit from training, workshops, seminars, individual consulting sections, and appropriate learning materials. These actions should be prioritized in your DEI plans. 

Practically employees should be encouraged to:

• Speak out and ask for help when needed
• Take care of themselves (mind and body) during stressful times 
• Setting realistic goals and adapting to new emerging situations
• Avoid negativity and lean towards neutral or positive thinking
• Helping each other, promoting solidarity, and accepting help

Companies must provide professional support to their employees for all the above. The leadership also needs to assess their goals and adapt them to the new situations, keeping in mind the well-being of their people.

Resilient individuals make resilient organizations and companies with the most inclusive cultures tend to be the most resilient. Resilience is needed to get through crises and their long-term effects. That is why Inclusion and Resilience are both key cultural components for the modern organization and leader to strive for. As mentioned in a United Nations article, “an equal, diverse and inclusive workplace is a key driver of resilience and recovery,” 

Lastly

Not only inclusion is essential for building resilience, but it also makes way for innovation and agility. The changing global market requires new ways of working, new business models, and innovative services. Companies with diverse cultures and talents are more likely to succeed and survive.

DEI is no more a fancy, privileged ideal organizational approach. It should be on top priority in any organization, be it a normal or crisis time.