Companies all over the country are either going through or about to begin redundancy programmes. From an HR perspective, the process is carefully prescribed. There is a generic recipe for the number of letters, meetings, ‘time for consideration’ and a token offer for employee assistance for those who need professional support. However, there is not much written about how the health and safety crew can support their team.
During my career, I have personally been made redundant and I have sat on the other side of the table making people redundant. It doesn’t matter where you sit, the process is not fun.
From a Health and Safety perspective, the thing to remember is that people are going through a grieving process and you never know how they will react. For some, their job is intricately tied to their sense of identity and personal worth. For others, all they will be focused on is what the loss of income could mean for their family. Will the kids need to go to a different school? Will we need to sell our hosue? Will we need to move in with the in-laws?
How can you ‘show up’?
Set up your professional boundaries with your team. The Karpman Drama Triangle and the need to stay out of the ‘Victim’ zone is a useful tool to consider. Instead of Victim/ Persecutor / Rescuer, go for Teacher / Learner / Supporter.
Just like when there is a serious event on-site, we need to stay out of the ‘name, blame, shame’ game. It’s important to show support AND be careful not to feed the drama.
Listen carefully, sometimes that is all that people need and keep repeating the following questions when appropriate:
- How can I help?
- What do you need?
- Is there a way we can support you through this?
Also, remember that supporting people through a redundancy process can be exhausting, emotionally demanding and trigger your own problems. Make sure you focus on your own self-care too.
3 Key Things to Look for To Help Prevent Accidents On-Site During a Redundancy Process
1 .Fatigue and the Thousand Yard Stare
Eyeball your team. Ask them if they got a good night’s sleep. It’s not uncommon for people to wake up at 3 am with their mind going like a hamster in a wheel, then find that by 6 am the hamster is dead and the wheel is still squeaking. If you need some advice on how to manage fatigued workers go to Worksafe’s Fatigue quick guide.
2. Look for Signs of Over Indulgence
Again, eyeball your team. Look for signs of drinking, drugs, overeating and oversleeping. Any form of impairment needs to be dealt with swiftly; however, this is the time to offer people support from trained professionals to make sure that the ‘indulgence’ doesn’t turn into a habit.
If you need advice on how to manage your team through these issues you can free call or text 1737 any time to talk to a trained counsellor
You can also call
- MATES in Construction 24/7 Helpline 0800 111 315 or free text 5353
- Lifeline – 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP)
- Suicide Crisis Helpline – 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)
- Healthline – 0800 611 116
- Samaritans – 0800 726 666
These following websites are also be useful
- Get Help Mates in Construction
- How do I manage an on-going illness of a staff member? Workwise
- Key To Life Mike King’s foundation
- Suicide: after a suicide attempt NZ Mental Health Foundation
- Managing mental health problems at work WellPlaceNZ
- www.thelowdown.co.nz Focuses on young people
- Feeling supported at work is important Depression.org.nz
3. Anger Issues
When dealing with angry people I like to remember the Cathexis Model. This is another ‘triangle’. It describes how when you are in a negative mindset, you can get stuck in a triangle where our only options are sadness, fear or anger. If your teammate doesn’t have the emotional toolbox to process sadness or fear, the default position is ANGER.
Violence in the workplace is not acceptable; however, it is often a symptom of a much bigger/deeper issue. I’ve found the best guide on how to deal with anger in the workplace was developed by the Warehouse Group. Although it focuses on family violence, it has some excellent resources on how to support someone who has ‘lost the plot’. See Get all the resources you need to start developing a family violence policy for your business.
Final Thoughts
Please don’t forget to check in with your HR team. Human Resource practitioners are just as good as Safety people when it comes to putting on a ‘playdough face’ (no emotion) and ‘getting it done’. Speaking from experience, having someone take you for an off-site coffee and saying; ‘Hey, I know your world sucks at the moment, how are you going?’ can make a huge difference.
If you have anything to add to HSE and a redundancy process, please call me on 0272 007 680 or email sarah@employmenow.co.nz.
Stay safe,
SB