0:03

Hello there, and thanks for taking time out of

0:05

your busy day to listen to Up in Flames.

0:08

I'm your host, but more importantly, your advocate

0:11

Abby Bolt. It's really hard

0:13

for me to say this out loud, really hard.

0:16

But I'm trying to share my vulnerabilities

0:18

in case there's anyone else out there who may be dealing

0:20

with the same thing and might feel alone

0:22

in it all. Then there's the possibility

0:24

that someone with a kind heart might hear

0:27

my experience and have a friend or

0:29

a peer dealing with something similar. They

0:31

might hear this and decide to be a good bystander

0:34

and lead them through a difficult time. You

0:37

see, the last day that I worked in my federal building,

0:39

I found myself in a dark office. Not mine,

0:42

but a vacant one where I felt safe.

0:44

I pulled the door closed behind

0:46

me and I was sitting under a desk shaking. My

0:50

head is spinning, my heart, pounding

0:52

my chest aching. An employee

0:55

had just come in and dumped another insurmountable

0:57

amount of evidence onto me regarding a hostile

0:59

work environment. I've been dealing

1:01

with it for quite some time. It

1:04

felt like it was never going to stop. No

1:06

matter what I did, how hard I tried to

1:08

fight for the right. The quicksand

1:11

pulled me under more and more every

1:13

day. In this episode

1:15

we're gonna talk about why it's important to document

1:18

workplace mental and emotional trauma and to

1:20

not simply let it slip by. The

1:22

need for such a process is deeper than the obvious

1:25

circumstances such as dealing with a fatality.

1:27

It applies to seemingly minor things that are

1:29

actually quite serious and

1:32

I created Up in Flames as an effort to stoke

1:34

a few fires and ignite moral courage

1:36

in the workplace and beyond. The

1:38

majority of my experience is as a firefighter

1:41

for a federal agency. So while that's

1:43

my base, the mission will go far beyond the federal

1:45

workforce. We'll discuss challenges

1:48

and solutions that apply not only in our professional

1:50

cultures, but throughout our society

1:52

as a whole. The

1:54

Up in Flames' mission is no ordinary

1:56

challenge. It's a culture shifting

1:58

project powered by you. To

2:01

keep Up in Flames going strong hit the link at the top of Abbybolt .com and

2:06

become a patron. Up

2:12

in Flames' patrons get special access

2:15

to behind the scenes info, back stories,

2:17

content no one else knows about. Not

2:19

to mention early access to many episodes. To

2:22

those of you who have been so kind as to leave a review

2:24

or even send me an email sharing your

2:26

experience, you've proven to me

2:28

that this is all worth it. I

2:31

invite anyone who would like to reach out to me,

2:33

email me anytime at abbyandupinflames .org and

2:36

with that, enjoy the episode.

2:48

Organizations can prepare leaders and

2:50

employees to not only respond physically,

2:53

but also administratively to traumatic

2:55

incidents in a way that will help reduce potential

2:57

negative effects on their mentality. This

3:00

includes the daunting task of exposure

3:02

forms aka I

3:04

hate to say it, paperwork. That

3:06

can ensure an employee is cared for long

3:08

after the event. Employers cannot

3:10

guarantee that employees will never be exposed

3:12

to trauma in the workplace. However,

3:14

they can take action to help prevent and

3:17

or treat the most debilitating effects

3:19

of exposure to trauma by adequately

3:21

preparing their employees. Preparation

3:24

includes both the ability to respond

3:26

in the moment and access to the

3:28

necessary coping strategies and social

3:30

support after the incident. An

3:32

event is more likely to be experienced as trauma when

3:35

a person perceives the incident to be

3:37

unexpected, something they were

3:40

unprepared for. Unpreventable, uncontrollable,

3:43

the result of intentional cruelty related

3:46

to a childhood event. Potential

3:49

trauma in the workplace could include

3:51

exposure to stressful

3:53

events like death, grief,

3:55

suicide, accident or injury. Organizational stressors

3:59

like bullying, threats, harassment,

4:02

betrayal, maliciousness, extreme

4:04

isolation, chronic pressure, unresolved

4:07

conflict, toxic work environment, uncertainty

4:09

, fear for the future, downsizing

4:12

or fear of unemployment. Physical

4:15

stressors can be noise, chaotic

4:17

environment, sense of no control

4:19

of her space. Fear for physical

4:21

safety, harsh or flashing lights,

4:24

extreme of heat or cold working

4:27

in mid-construction other adverse physical

4:29

conditions. External

4:31

threats can be evacuation,

4:32

lock down, fire

4:36

or robbery or imagine

4:38

a local mass shooting. The strategies

4:41

that you can apply to address workplace trauma

4:43

can also be helpful for trauma that occurs

4:45

outside the workplace, including a

4:47

serious accident, a natural disaster,

4:50

witnessing violence or war, difficult

4:52

childbirth, history of physical, sexual, emotional

4:55

or domestic abuse. Now in this

4:57

episode I'm focusing on an essential

4:59

reminder of daunting paperwork.

5:02

It's hard enough to get employees to fill out paperwork

5:05

when they've been visibly injured and then there

5:07

are times when you need to think about filling out medical

5:09

paperwork for exposure to traumatic events

5:11

or ongoing stressful behaviors in the office

5:14

that can create an entirely different culture

5:16

challenge. Find out what forms are necessary

5:19

for your profession. Not just

5:21

because you might need them, but also because

5:23

you may have a peer whom you recognize is in

5:25

need and you might be the best person to coach

5:27

them. In the federal agency I worked

5:29

for, they'd be called C2's and

5:32

sometimes even C1's if

5:34

the scenario deem it necessary. For

5:35

feds a C2 would be like an exposure

5:38

form as if you'd been exposed to something

5:40

that caused or could cause harm in the future.

5:43

For instance, you may have been exposed to smoke

5:45

that could cause later health issues or

5:47

maybe you were exposed to asbestos. That could cause

5:49

some serious issues later in life. It's like

5:52

a medical document that you want to have on file

5:54

to reference later. Taking this proactive

5:56

approach also shows your employer,

5:59

your agency, whoever. That there

6:01

is damage being done or there's

6:03

a possibility of damage and you want to have

6:05

it on record. Now what I'm talking

6:07

about in this particular piece is the psychological

6:10

and emotional stress and trauma that's caused

6:12

by toxic work environments. Whether

6:14

people want to admit it or not, it's happening.

6:17

What I'm talking about is damaging

6:19

people's lives to the point

6:22

of suicide. Yes, it's

6:24

that serious. I'm not going to beat around

6:26

the bush about it anymore and you shouldn't either.

6:29

Do you have any idea how many people around

6:31

you are dealing with an extreme amount of personal

6:33

stress to where they're on the edge

6:35

of tipping over? And then the wholly

6:37

unnecessary but seemingly mandatory

6:40

BS at work has them right there,

6:42

right on the tipping point and then

6:45

something that may seem minor to those

6:47

on the outside pushes them over.

6:49

I'm not kidding about this stuff. It's

6:51

serious. It's not just,

6:54

Oh, I had a stressful day at work. Or, Oh,

6:56

things are so rough in the office. Toxic

6:59

and hostile work environments are causing

7:01

PTSD, depression,

7:03

anxiety, all the things that come

7:06

along with these stressful situations. And

7:08

it can be extremely damaging to someone's life.

7:11

Well, we need to start doing is making sure

7:13

that people who are genuinely affected by these

7:15

situations are filling out paperwork

7:17

to have in their personnel file, even if

7:19

it's only kept by them. If for nothing

7:22

else to have supportive documentation

7:24

should a situation arise where it's needed. The

7:26

other thing that it does is it forces the

7:28

employer to see a medical form and understand

7:31

the seriousness of the situation. When it's filled

7:33

out by an employee, they cannot just say,

7:35

you can't turn that in, or I'm

7:38

not going to accept that. They have to acknowledge

7:40

that it's there. Even if they don't agree with

7:42

it, they can't deny it. They

7:44

must keep it on file once it's been submitted.

7:46

And they have policies to follow that

7:48

may require them to take an even more supportive

7:50

action depending on where you work.

7:52

They can keep whatever opinionated notes they want

7:55

to try. And make it look like it's not true. If they don't

7:57

agree, whatever that might be, but the fact

7:59

of the matter is now you have it documented.

8:02

You have it noted somewhere that something

8:04

is happening. It's affecting you medically

8:06

and you need to have it written down. Emotional

8:09

and psychological trauma is real and

8:12

it's nothing to be ashamed of. It affects

8:14

our bodies and tangible ways. It

8:16

can break you down. It doesn't have to be an

8:18

assault or death or vast physical

8:21

trauma to affect someone's life. If

8:23

you're getting picked on at work, if you're getting bullied,

8:26

mobbed, harass, assaulted, or even

8:28

falsely accused. If harmful things

8:31

are happening and you have to deal with them in any

8:33

way, you should also be filling out medical paperwork

8:35

to go along with it. Because today

8:38

might not be the last day you're dealing with it. It

8:40

could add up and up and up

8:42

to the point where you cannot take it anymore.

8:45

What I'm saying here is if these situations

8:47

that are adding up are truly being caused by

8:49

your employment, then you need to be holding your employer

8:52

accountable. And it could also

8:54

include you looking at a different route of employment.

8:57

But if there's something they could be doing

8:59

better to provide you a healthy working environment,

9:02

then they need to do it. Some people may

9:04

think this is overkill and only pansies

9:06

documents such trauma, but guess what? That's

9:09

how we've always done it and it's not working.

9:11

Suicide rates are going up, not

9:14

down. So clearly we need to make

9:16

some micro adjustments to shift the big

9:18

picture. Now. Maybe this is the last time

9:20

you deal with it and you find a way to shut it down.

9:22

You don't have any more problems. That's awesome

9:24

and I wish everyone could be so lucky. However,

9:27

on the flip side, it could go on for years.

9:30

It can go on to the point where it wrecks your marriage,

9:32

your parenting, your family life, your

9:34

social life. It can go on to the point where

9:36

you're so stressed out and depressed

9:39

and sad that you don't even realize where it's coming

9:41

from. When all the while it could be coming

9:43

from what you're dealing with at work. Find

9:45

out what your options are for documenting the exposure.

9:48

Fill out the paperwork, have it on file. Even

9:51

if you're someone who's being accused of harassing or

9:53

bullying someone else and it's putting you through a lot

9:55

of stress. And you don't think that you're being treated

9:57

fairly, you should also fill it out

9:59

because it goes both ways. Not

10:01

all accusations are correct and false

10:03

accusations can rip someone's life apart

10:05

just as fast. If we don't do

10:08

the things outside the box to change the culture,

10:10

the culture will never change. Documenting

10:13

trends of emotional trauma caused by hostile

10:15

work environments and poor management, will

10:17

provide the masses something to think about when

10:19

figuring out what needs to change. Not

10:21

to mention, heaven forbid, you

10:23

find yourself in a dark place needing help, realizing

10:26

your mental health issues were caused in the workplace.

10:29

This way, at least you'll have the documentation

10:31

to prove your case. Thank

10:34

you for listening. If you know someone

10:36

who could benefit from the Up in Flames' mission, please

10:39

hit the share button so they can find us. Now go

10:42

forth, lead with fire and

10:45

never forget to choose the hard right

10:48

over easy silence.

10:58

[inaudible] .