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Emergencies and disasters are unfortunate realities of life. When an employee experiences trauma, whether it is from a weather catastrophe, workplace violence, a personal crisis, or a community event, a manager’s response becomes a defining moment. If the situation is handled well, it creates space for healing and builds trust while allowing for business operations to continue. If the situation is handled poorly, the employee’s recovery can be damaged, and the organization can be put at increased risk from a legal, financial, and reputational standpoint.

Mental health–related short-term disability (STD) claims are rising at a rate that many employer leave programs were never designed to handle. Stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, and trauma now represent some of the fastest-growing drivers of time away from work.

Seven states have heat safety regulation laws for employees, and more are considering them. How can employers protect their teams from heat stress?

Instead of handing stressed employees a self-help resource, we need to assess and address the organizational conditions creating that stress.

“Who’s helped you this week? And what’s one personal win you’d like to share?” These questions are posed during weekly team huddles to encourage staff members to share insights and takeaways, and ideally to ask for help when they need it.

An organization is only as strong as its workforce. But strength is not built on policies alone. It’s built on how people feel when they come to work each day. Do they feel seen, supported, and trusted? Or do they feel isolated, overwhelmed, and interchangeable?

Learn how leading with empathy enables workplace accommodation and leave management teams to support employees, build trust, and boost retention.