The Importance of Knowing How Varying Types of Cultures Emerge during Pandemic

You've likely seen the memes on social media platforms:

• Cheering in Gratitude for Medical Professionals
• Raising Community Spirits from Balconies
• Medical Professionals Sharing Dispatches from the Frontlines
• Musical Medleys about Being Stuck at Home
• Showcasing New "Coworkers" or "Work" Attire
• Showcasing New "Happy Hour"
• Reminders about Levels of Abuse Increasing

Even just in that brief, and hardly exhaustive list, you can see the stark differences made clear. For some, this season is a major inconvenience worth laughing about – genuinely. For others, within their lifetime they have never before experienced such continuous and overwhelming levels of trauma day after day. ​

At some point – and all at different points – the people in your organizations and groups will come into proximity (if not already) with the various groups along this spectrum from inconvenience to trauma. Between the poles lies those who are indirectly, yet still significantly impacted, by the virus – those who are losing their jobs, are grieving alone, are experiencing forms of physical or sexual abuse as they "shelter" at home. ​

It will be important as an organizational leader, for you to consider where your staff and constituents fall on this spectrum in the weeks and months of living and working from home. Is your organization an appropriate place for disclosing personal impact? If not, do you or your leadership have practices in place for referring your people to helpful resources? ​

Consider where your staff and constituents fall on this spectrum in the weeks and months of living and working from home. 

If you are looking for assistance in helping your people find resources and making helpful referrals, reach out to us. We'd be glad to hear from you and provide you with assistance, including developing referral inventories that work well for your context. 

If your organization works in areas of behavioral health, in what ways are you preparing for assisting people in your community with coming back together again once stay-at-home ordinances lift? This can be done through trauma-informed education, helping your constituents understand the ways people grieve and process trauma differently, and understanding how there can be concentric circles of impact. ​

For some, this season is a major inconvenience worth laughing about – genuinely.

​For others, within their lifetime they have never before experienced such continuous and overwhelming levels of trauma day after day. ​

Of course, in any society, there always exist different subsets of groups. Even so, during and after a pandemic, new subsets can emerge and their differences can be more stark than many people have previously experienced. As a leader, it is good to consider the ways you are preparing and supporting your constituents for what may come. 

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Further Reading:

• How Long Term Response to Pandemic Differs from Other Disaster Response
• Metabolizing Adversity
• What Kind of Person are You in an Emergency?
• Preparing and Responding to Pandemic Virus​

​Other Resources for understanding trauma, pacing, and sustaining long-term care: 

• Personal Care Network Inventory (​Free, and something proactive and concrete you can do today)
• Professional Care Network Inventory (​Free, and something proactive and concrete you can do today)
• ​Phases of Disaster Chart (​Free, and helpful for fostering conversations with your staff or team)
• An in-depth training manual for expanding care, building resilient groups, and providing safety for traumatized people to heal and thrive. 

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Looking for ways to help? 

As more in our communities move to working remotely and practicing social distancing, our online resources are increasingly important for many. You can support these free, online resources by signing up to volunteer with ICTG, or by giving today.

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​Rev. Dr. Kate Wiebe serves as the Executive Director of ICTG. She is an organizational health consultant and pastoral psychotherapist. She lives with her family in Santa Barbara, CA.