Treating workplace trauma

Today was Monday, and a fair amount of Swedes are starting work again after their holidays. At my old job 20 percent of the workforce was axed just before summer, and now the returning remnants have to figure out how to survive doing more with less people.

I like coming up with my own stuff on this blog, but for these tips on how managers can get off to a good start in similar traumatized environments, I can’t do better than my hero Edward Miller:

· Notice the loss. Talk to people about missing their friends who are gone.

· Organize some social nourishment. Encourage people to take breaks with their friends. Have a daily coffee break with your staff where you talk about your lives, not your work.

· Become more transparent; stop meeting behind glass walls.

· Stop treating people like expendable parts.

· Be honest. Stop telling people that “good times” are coming back. They aren't.