How to Show Up For Your Employees During The Current Atmosphere of Pain and Hate
In recent days, I have been grieved and saddened by George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent hurt that has been felt among the Black community, as well as the violent protests and riots around the country. If you are a white man like me, you may be wondering how you can help at this time, even though you don’t know what it is like to be something other than a white caucasian. While it’s true that we can never fully understand the hurt and harm that the Black community has experienced, not merely this past week, but throughout American history, we still have a responsibility to show up for them even when it’s hard to grasp what they may be feeling. While it may be true that we ourselves have never discriminated or spoken out in a hateful way toward any person of color, sometimes, we may worry about saying or doing the wrong thing that might inadvertently offend someone. Although it’s good to educate ourselves on how to be there for our Black brothers and sisters, as well as all people of color, the only thing worse than saying something wrong is saying nothing at all.
Whether we know it or not, our silence still communicates something. As a leader, it’s crucial that you seek to show up for all your employees, regardless of their color, not only during this time but at all times. Jesus summarized all the Commandments into just two that we are to live our lives by: Love God and Love Others. How good of a job are we doing right now in showing love to others (including every one of our employees) in the face of all the hate that is everywhere around us? Here are some ways you can effectively do so:
1. Check-In
Following the recent tragic events that took place, I find myself experiencing a range of emotions, from anxiety about any of my family members being needlessly attacked in retribution because of their color or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, to sorrow for all those and their families who have been impacted by needless and senseless acts of hate, discrimination, violence, as well as for the division I see in our country right now. Everyone is being impacted by this hate that is all around us, and if we aren’t careful, we can be drawn into hateful reactions to the hateful and tragic events we are witnessing. We must choose to be sensitive to the emotional and psychological damage that may be occurring to our employees regardless of their color by showing them we care. Find a way to make contact with all of your employees personally, even if you need to delegate some phone calls among some of your fellow leadership. These interactions do not have to be lengthy, although we must be willing to listen if our employees need to vent or discuss something. At the minimum, we need to hear how they have been impacted, express our sorrow and condolences for what has taken place, ask them how they are doing and if there is any way we can help them from a personal or professional standpoint. Your employees may need someone to pray for them, to listen to them, or for you to take more progressive action within the workplace to be inclusive.
2. Encourage Them to Take Time Off
Many people have been emotionally impacted by recent tragic events. Some have personally experienced a new round of hate towards them because of their race, and others have had family members attacked and even family businesses destroyed in violent demonstrations and riots. Showing up for work after experiencing, witnessing, or being affected by a traumatic event is difficult. Sometimes, it can even make it worse to be trying to keep it all together in the workplace (even if they are working remotely) when they are struggling inside. Many employees feel guilty about taking time off, even if they are regularly encouraged to do so. This is an opportune time to show love to your employees by reaching out to them and showing them you care. You should strongly urge any of your employees who have been emotionally impacted by these tragic events to take time off if they feel that they need to or want to. Remind them that you want them to feel as happy and healthy as possible and that you want them to take some time away if that’s what they need. Make it as easy as possible for them to take some time off by not overloading them with projects and helping them clear their calendars. To accomplish this, you and your team may need to take on more work than normal or donate some of your paid time off or vacation to help out someone else, which is a small sacrifice compared to the impact that may have been suffered by your employee or coworker.
3. Take Action
While showing up and checking in are excellent steps to being there for our employees, it is only the first step. Our words don’t mean much if we don’t take action to ensure that all people of color feel comfortable and fully included in our workplace. If you aren’t sure where to begin in taking action, you can start by getting educated and requiring everyone at work to do the same. You may consider organizing a workshop led by a person of color that can educate your leadership and employees on the realities of racial discrimination and what we can do to fight it. You can model love and care towards others by the way you interact with all your employees regularly. We have to be willing to get involved with others and let them know we care about them and that we value our differences. That is an essential part of not only being a good leader but being a good representation of Christ who spent His life on earth advocating for the persecuted and those that people in power at the time viewed as the lowly.
Jesus gave us a test for us to know if we are truly Christians. He said they will know we are Christians by the love we show others (John 13:35). So if I were to take a survey about you among all your employees and co-workers, would the first thing they told me about you was that they knew you were a Christian by the love and care that you show to everyone? I think we all have some work to do!