LaDedria Dunigan: The Tall Poppy “Workplace trauma showed up in my life, I didn’t welcome it.
By: Ladedria Dunigan
Tags: Workplace Bullying, Burnout, Workplace Trauma, Employee Engagement, Workplace Stress

LaDedria Dunigan: The Tall Poppy







“Workplace trauma showed up in my life, I didn’t welcome it. It barged its way in, leaving me depleted and the people around me devastated. Because it showed up, so blatant and bold, I am unapologetic about being the light that shines on it. This is me changing the narrative.”







My name is LaDedria Dunigan and I am the Founder of Powerless to Powerful Overcoming Workplace Trauma- Yeap, Workplace Trauma is Real! For years, I have worked in the workforce and within those years I experienced workplace trauma in the form of habitual burnout, racism, discrimination, microaggressions, and covert bullying. It was not until recently that I realized and understood just how much a toxic work environment could damage a person psychologically.

Like millions of people across this country, I found myself grabbing at pieces of normalcy after experiencing WPT. For a while, I only recognized myself in the mirror. And even then, I had a hard time recognizing myself. Everything I knew to be true about myself was gone; confidence, strength, courage, and self-awareness all gone. What was clear and now a part of my story was depression, sadness, weight gain, self-sabotaging and distrusting behaviors. Until I decided to get through it. Not past it, not over it, through it. I put my energy into educating myself and focusing on others. In this time of reflection, I learned that my story was not as severe as others. I found that people were ending their lives due to continual workplace stressors. Using the pain and newly found information as fuel, I created the WPT initiative.







What exactly is Workplace Trauma? Workplace Trauma is the employee experience of continual stress within the workplace. WPT includes but not limited to sexual harassment, racism, discrimination, bullying, retaliation, work overload, chronic stressors, unfair workload, and job uncertainty (You can learn more about the characteristics of workplace trauma on yeapworkplacetraumaisreal.com).







What Does Workplace Trauma Look Like? We experience and cope with trauma in different ways. When an individual experiences workplace trauma, the brain changes. Psychologically, when we experience trauma, we are not the same. If untreated, WPT can cause confusion, difficulties concentrating, irritability, mood swings, anxiety, distrustful tendencies, shame, self-blame, isolation, feelings of being numb, and a sense of hopelessness. Any kind of psychological trauma can reduce the immune system’s ability to function at its 100% capability. Which leaves the individual susceptible to illnesses like diabetes and heart disease.







Facts About Workplace Bullying Workplace bullying has been reported as being one of the top complaints of employees in this country. And nearly half of all-American workers have been targeted by bullies in the workplace. Bullying has been positively tied to PTSD. Unfortunately, bosses usually make up the majority of bullies. 54% of workplace bullies have been bullying for more than 5 years. Because there are no policies that protect employees from workplace bullies, 65% of targeted employees will lose their jobs. Studies show that many workplace bullies score high on narcissism and self-orientation tests and women are more likely to be bullies in the workplace than men. Because leaders are most often the bullies in the workplace, roughly 80% of them negatively influence 5 or more employees.







Fact. There are no laws prohibiting workplace bullying nor sustaining psychological trauma on the job.







What Does Workplace Bullying Look Like? With workplace bullying being one the highest forms of harassment in the workplace there are clear indicators when you are dealing with it. To name a few, here’s what workplace bullying looks like spreading malicious rumors, gossip, or innuendos, excluding or isolating someone socially, intimidating a person, undermining or deliberately impeding a person’s work, physically abusing or threatening abuse, withholding necessary information or purposefully giving the wrong information, making jokes that are obviously offensive by spoken word or e-mail, intruding on a person’s privacy by pestering, spying or stalking, assigning unreasonable duties or workload which are unfavorable to one person (in a way that creates unnecessary pressure), or underwork - creating a feeling of uselessness.







Workplace Allies Until laws are passed, allies in workplaces are needed. Recent studies show that nearly half of all-American workers have been affected by workplace bullying, either as a target or as a witness to abusive behavior against a co-worker. A workplace ally is someone that simply has your back on the job in the event of retaliation, bullying, discrimination, sexual harassment, or any uncivil behavior. Having a witness to uncivil events on the job could prove to be helpful in the future.







What can you do as a Workplace Ally?



• If you see something say something.



• Be a true ally and speak the truth.



• Expose the bully.



• Do not ignore the problem.



• Report the issues to HR, asap.







The reality is workplace bullies will not stop until they are held accountable for their behavior. The only way workplace bullying, and other uncivil behaviors can be annihilated in the workplace is bringing awareness to the issues, changing policies and the work culture.







“90% of workplace harassment is never officially reported.”







Why Don’t People Just Leave When they are Treated Poorly on Their Job? When I speak with people about quitting a job that is affecting their well-being, the first couple of things that come up is money and fear. I know this all too well. The weight of responsibilities, financial restraints, the fear of starting all over again, fear of taking a pay reduction, and the issues of finding gainful employment are crushing. Like me, people have invested so much time on jobs and they have responsibilities, they cannot afford to leave. It is just that simple. What is needed is support, not judgement. But there’s hope and ways to navigate a toxic workplace until exiting for a healthier work environment is possible. (To learn more about Navigating A Toxic Workplace visit yeapworkplacetraumaisreal.com.)







What is the Goal of Powerless to Powerful-Overcoming Workplace Trauma? The sole purpose of this initiative is to educate, bring awareness, and ultimately help people heal from wpt. Yes, this platform was created to educate, but it was also created for a safe place where workers can have a voice. Because most often than not, when experiencing wpt, the voices of workers are muted. It is important to me that the narrative changes surrounding the employee/employer relationship in the workplace. My goal is to normalize the idea that employees have the right to go to work each day and work in peace. When employees and employers agree upon hire, nowhere is it written in the job description that he or she has to agree to tolerate a hostile work environment. But yet, it is an unspoken truth and reality for workers across this country.







Because we know that there are no laws to protect employees from workplace traumas, my job has become an Enlightener. To educate and inform workers on how they can protect themselves against trauma in the workplace. Lastly, it is my hope to possibly help create and introduce laws that prohibit organizations from doing any psychological harm to employees. Therefore normalizing healthy work environments, frowning upon incivility in the workplace, work life balance, and employees choosing their mental health over a job.







The Elements of Healing from Workplace Trauma To start the healing journey of recovering from WPT, know that you are not alone. There is healing after workplace trauma. There are ways to get to the other side of it. But it starts with taking the first step towards the other side. The First step is acknowledgement. Yeap, that happened. Now own it. Name it. Put a name to it, give yourself a voice. Ask yourself, what caused your trauma in the workplace? Start by saying, “ I was….”. Grace is needed. Give yourself some grace. Be kind to yourself. Understand right off that you will be triggered, and you will have good and bad days. And that is okay. Having a positive outlook and mindset is required, this will help with positive self-talk. Time. It is going to take time to feel better and heal from it. Lastly, keep in mind you will not be the same person as you were before. That is not the goal. The goal is to heal in a way that allows you to be the best version of yourself. The ultimate outcome is healing and moving forward. Healing is about moving forward, right? When it is time, you will be able to forgive, let go, and move on.







Healing and coping involve community and talking about the issues. And if need be, getting professional help. My advice would be to anyone suffering from WPT to surround themselves with positive people, do not isolate. Seek help, it is okay not to be okay. You are not alone. Talk to family and friends about what has been going on. And familiarize yourself with self-regulation and distressing techniques. Again, reach out to a professional to get counseling. If you are feeling suicidal please call 1-800-273-8255.







Self-care We hear all the time that health is wealth, well the same goes for mental health. Mental health is wealth and cashing in on that wealth starts with self-care. I read this quote not too long ago and it said, “If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness.” Self-care after enduring any type of stress, especially, stressors from the job is crucial to recentering yourself. The body cannot work effectively without the mind. If you are empty mentally you are not at your best. Not for you, your family, or your employer.







Self-care is a way of taking the power back in your life. It involves setting aside time just for you. This time will allow you to do those things that decrease stress and quiet the mind. Have you made time for yourself, lately? If not, do yourself a favor and do so. Make self-care time your own. Do those things that bring you joy.







What Does Self-care Look Like? Self-care does not have to be one set thing. For instance, if you find talking a walk from your house to the corner, do that. Your self-care routine can be limitless. Hot baths, listening to music, setting the scene with plants and candles, relaxing by doing absolutely nothing, watching favorite movies, writing, skin and body care, reading, walking, dancing, and cooking are among my favorites. Again, make it your own and stick to it. There are tons of benefits to a self-care routine. Consistently sticking to a self-care routine can improve your over outlook on life, physical and mental well-being, emotional health, sleep disturbances, and concentration. Over time, self-care also helps with building a resilience to stress.







“You own everything that has happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should’ve behaved better.”



-Anne Lamont







Workplace Trauma is real. Its negative impacts are real. The devastation is real. I just want to be a part of the solution instead of the problem. In my own journey of healing from WPT, I am realizing that it is okay not to be okay. It is okay to tell my story so that others can feel safe with telling their stories. I have something in common with the workers across this country, the time spent at work in comparison to the time we spend with our families. Individually we will spend more than 90,000 hours at work. That number is overwhelmly more than the combined time spent with family on holidays or in general, down time, off days, funerals, vacation, and hobbies. I believe that because of the time employees spend at their jobs vs the time spent at home with their families warrants peace of mind at work. Employees are entitled to psychologically safe workspaces, period. Until laws are passed to prevent psychological harm of employees while at work, education is the key.







It may be difficult to understand workplace trauma, especially, if you have never experienced it. Remember, just because it has not happened to you or because you may not have seen it, does not mean it is not happening. The fact is, it is happening every day and affecting millions of people. Please educate yourself on the matter and if the opportunity presents itself to help someone affected by WPT, do not turn a blind eye.







–The Tall Poppy







For more information on WPT and its effects, visit yeapworkplacetraumaisreal.com



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