This interview is with Stephanie Lemek, Founder & CEO at The Wounded Workforce.

Stephanie Lemek, Founder & CEO, The Wounded Workforce

Stephanie, thank you for joining us! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming an expert in Trauma Informed Workplaces?

I spent over 16 years in-house in HR roles, from intern to Senior Executive. I supported a variety of industries and organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, during this time. One thing that was always consistent was that challenging times and experiences—what many of us would call 'trauma'—often showed up for people in the workplace, even sometimes without their recognizing it. This experience, coupled with my trauma-healing journey, led me to found The Wounded Workforce and focus on building trauma-informed workplaces.

Your work at The Wounded Workforce is particularly interesting. Could you elaborate on the path that led you to establish this organization and its mission?

The Wounded Workforce sprouted out of a desire to read a book on trauma-informed workplace practices. I saw an opportunity to bridge DEI and mental health needs for my clients and thought trauma-informed principles could call more people in for meaningful conversations and, more importantly, meaningful change. But I honestly had a hard time finding what I was looking for; many options were too short, not focused on being accessible to non-psychologists, or hid the concept of trauma-informed care under another term. So, I thought—well, maybe I should write that book I was looking for. But I wanted to take action, and that's where The Wounded Workforce really took off—in taking action and also empowering others to take action in their own organizations.

You've mentioned the staggering statistic that 70% of US adults have experienced trauma. How have you seen this reality manifest in the workplace, and what are some subtle signs HR professionals should be aware of?

One of the biggest challenges of trauma and navigating its larger impacts on the workplace, and even society, is that it is very unique to each person. That said, there are signs that trauma could be showing up in the workplace. Some common examples are absences, performance decline, behavior changes, relationship issues, health issues, and increased fear or withdrawal from others. The changes you might see that make you say, 'Hey, that person seems off.'

You've emphasized that Trauma Informed Workplaces should avoid diagnosing or treating trauma. How can HR leaders create a safe environment without overstepping boundaries and inadvertently causing more harm?

It's always important to remember our role—and that is not to diagnose or treat trauma. Every survivor's story belongs to them, and it's up to them when, if, and how they share it. So first, make sure we aren't asking or pressuring folks to share traumatic experiences. Next, rely on what it means to be trauma-informed—that is, to be informed and aware of trauma, its prevalence, and its impacts. And to actively avoid retraumatizing survivors and minimizing harm by leveraging the principles of trauma-informed workplace cultures.

You've talked about proactive measures for mental health, such as examining the day-to-day employee experience. Can you share an example of a workplace practice that might unintentionally be retraumatizing, and how it can be modified?

A common challenge with our workplaces is that they often remove choice for employees. Choice is vital in a trauma-informed environment because at the root of a traumatic experience is a lack of choice or power. We often default to telling our teams what to do or how to do things and overlook the opportunity to create choices. Now, this doesn't mean giving your teams carte blanche—we still need to hit our goals and objectives, but it means finding ways to create choice within those responsibilities. Can you offer a choice in how something is accomplished? Can you offer choice in priority, project assignment, work partners? This small change can have a huge impact.

In your experience, how can managers be effectively trained to support a Trauma Informed Workplace? What specific skills are crucial for them to develop?

There is a lot of opportunity to support managers with training and skills to better support trauma-informed cultures, but if I have to pick the most important place to start, it would be around self-awareness. Specifically, as it relates to understanding your power as a leader and the challenges of power imbalances in the workplace. An imbalance of power is almost always at play in a traumatic event, and the manager-employee relationship is also imbalanced. By driving self-awareness and understanding, managers can avoid some of the very serious pitfalls and harm of these imbalances.

You've highlighted the importance of connection, manageable stress, and psychological safety in the workplace. How can organizations measure their success in fostering these elements, and what metrics can they track?

Employee engagement surveys are a great way to proactively understand the overall state of your workplace and how your culture is playing into experience and results. Additionally, sick days, turnover, productivity, and customer satisfaction can also be key elements to indicate success or areas of opportunity—however, these are lagging indicators. I highly recommend finding a way to hear from your employees proactively—whether through surveys, town halls, stay interviews, etc.—to get the best and most timely feedback.

Transitioning to a more personal note, how has your understanding of trauma informed practices influenced your own leadership style?

My own journey with trauma and my work in trauma-informed practices really led me to re-evaluate my approach. I think while I always looked to support my team members, I often missed opportunities to be more flexible and more empathetic with myself. I think the work we do with ourselves appears pretty strongly as we lead, and I wish I had offered myself more compassion and self-acceptance earlier in my career and better modeled those behaviors to my teams.

Lastly, what advice would you give to HR professionals who are just beginning to explore the concept of Trauma Informed Workplaces? What first steps can they take within their organizations?

Creating a trauma-informed culture is a long journey. So understand that change will take time, and make sure you are celebrating those incremental accomplishments—because they are making a huge difference! Also, look to start this work from a place of existing strength. If your organization is great with physical and occupational safety, build from that existing culture to incorporate psychological and financial safety.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I am incredibly grateful and privileged to do this work. Supporting a better future of work now and for years to come is so meaningful, and I am hopeful that this is the moment when the tools of trauma-informed workplaces can help us make a momentous change.