How has traumatic stress shown up in my workplace? What were the challenges?
Last year, our district was being led by a toxic bully. Before he even got to me, I had heard stories of him yelling and belittling other leaders. I remember hearing the stories and thinking…that’s not right, but I hadn’t experienced his abusive behavior at that time. Then, one day it happened. He yelled at me over the phone, and I was shocked. He was asking questions about a report and wanted to know why I had a sales decrease. My responses were inadequate in his eyes. He made me feel afraid, like I was stupid, and activated my ptsd. I told one of our other leaders that I could not work with a man who yells at me (I am a survivor of kidnapping, SA, and DV years later). Long story short, he continued this behavior with me and the other leaders. He didn’t care who he harmed and was proud that “everybody was getting it.” He would yell, gossip, tell lies, isolate us…we were afraid to even speak to each other, and much more. I am here because I want my company to ensure that they train all new DMs to understand TIL. This man retraumatized me, caused others anxiety, panic, ptsd. One manager even lost some if her hair. A major challenge was that he left in April after a year of abuse. HR was responsive, however, his behavior continued until he left.