*PLEASE DO NOT ABUSE OUR STAFF!!!*
We see these signs everywhere these days, don’t we?
Doctor’s surgeries, railways, tube stations, even some restaurants and takeaways.
To me, it’s a sign of the post-pandemic times we live in, that people working in client-facing services are often subject to bad treatment.
There is no excuse for abuse of course.
At the same time, there’s something here I think we need to look at.
And yes it’s trauma-informed treatment again.
The pandemic, the cost of living crisis and the scariness of the news over the past few years has ground everyone down emotionally. People’s feelings are closer to the surface than ever before. One harsh exchange or misattuned comment can leave people feeling more upset than ever before.
And hurt people hurt people, don’t they.
People who are fearful, who are upset, they often lash out verbally. Often they don’t even realise that they’re coming across as angry, even aggressive. Because they feel scared and vulnerable inside.
So, yes, organisations, please protect your staff. That’s imperative.
But please also train them in how to work with traumatised/vulnerable people (ie pretty much the whole population these days).
I took my baby to the doctor recently to try to get an appointment. I won’t even start with the appointment booking system (!) which could rival the entry examination for Mensa. Not to sound patronising but God knows how elderly members of the community work out how to access it, with its various online hurdles to filling in a form before the doctor will even consider seeing you.
She had a rash, I was upset and scared. The receptionist told me I couldn’t make an appointment face to face (!) but had to book online.
She then told me “you don’t need to get upset” and that I should try to “calm down”.
Let's just say there were tears (mine not the baby's) and I then had to step outside to take some deep breaths.
This is what I mean! Trauma-informed treatment providers are shown what to say and how to work with people in distress. This stuff is vital. If you want to reduce anger towards your staff and equip them with tools to deal with people well without exacerbating upset, invest in this training.
It's interesting for me as I train lawyers in how to work in a trauma-informed way. And every time I deliver such training, I draw on all these examples of mis-attunment I’ve experienced over the years. All those times when the wrong words from someone has made a bad situation feel even worse. Often it's not even their fault - people working in client services have also been ground down by the stresses of the job, particularly through a pandemic. They're struggling with their own stuff.
We're all in this together. But if we're going to break down the barriers between people, we need to show them how to communicate with people in distress.
Have you experienced something like this? Let me know in the comments.
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