From Crisis to Care: The Case for Trauma Informed Cultures with Stephanie Lemek

In this episode of the "HR Mixtape," host Shari Simpson welcomes Stephanie Lemek, founder and CEO of The Wounded Workforce. With over 16 years of HR experience, Stephanie discusses the importance of creating trauma-informed workplaces. She shares insights on how trauma affects employees and the critical role HR professionals play in recognizing and addressing these issues.

Listeners will discover:

1. Understanding Trauma: Learn about the prevalence of trauma among employees and its impact on workplace dynamics.
2. Self-Care for HR Professionals: Discover the significance of self-awareness and self-care for HR leaders to combat secondary trauma and compassion fatigue.
3. Seven Principles of Trauma-Informed Workplaces: Explore actionable steps to foster a supportive work environment that prioritizes safety, trust, community, and empowerment.

Stephanie has over 16 years of experience in a variety of HR roles, spanning various industries and in organizations ranging from large Fortune 500 to growing start-ups. In every role, Stephanie noticed that the workplace just isn’t built with everyone in mind.  And despite the best efforts of HR teams and leaders, sometimes people still don’t have the right supports to be successful. With a lifelong mission of helping both organizations and individuals be successful (and at the same time!), there had to be a way to create organizational cultures where everyone can be successful — and that’s where trauma informed workplaces come in! Through a passion and research, Stephanie found that what she was looking for to help leaders, HR, and Talent professionals approach the workplace with an understanding and responsiveness to the traumatic experiences over 70% of adults bring with them to the workplace, didn’t exist. So, she set on a mission to build it herself!

Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation that emphasizes the need for empathy and understanding in HR practices.