PTSD Flight to Freedom

Supporting Employees with PTSD and CPTSD

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Supporting Employees with PTSD and CPTSD: An Informative Guide for Employers and Co-workers

Understanding and supporting employees with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) is essential for fostering a compassionate and legally compliant workplace. Employees with these conditions may face unique challenges, and employers and co-workers can play a crucial role in creating an environment that helps them succeed.

This informative guide provides insight into PTSD and CPTSD, offers actionable steps for creating workplace accommodations, and explores ways to communicate effectively with affected employees. We will also delve into service animals, emotional support animals, and routines that aid in improving the well-being and productivity of individuals with trauma-related conditions.

Understanding PTSD and CPTSD: Definitions and Symptoms

What is PTSD?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) develops after a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event. Events such as military combat, accidents, or violent assaults can trigger symptoms that interfere with daily life. Individuals with PTSD may relive their trauma through flashbacks or nightmares, exhibit hypervigilance, and avoid anything related to the trauma.

Key Symptoms of PTSD:

  • Flashbacks and intrusive memories
  • Heightened anxiety and hypervigilance
  • Avoidance of trauma reminders
  • Difficulty sleeping or concentrating
  • Emotional numbness or detachment

What is CPTSD?

Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) is a condition that arises from repeated trauma over a prolonged period, such as childhood abuse or long-term domestic violence. CPTSD encompasses many of the symptoms of PTSD but also includes deep emotional and relational challenges.

Additional Symptoms of CPTSD:

  • Chronic feelings of guilt or worthlessness
  • Difficulty regulating emotions
  • Distorted perceptions of oneself or others
  • Struggles with maintaining healthy relationships
  • Dissociation or detachment from reality

Both PTSD and CPTSD can severely impact an individual’s professional life. Understanding the nuances of these conditions is the first step toward supporting employees who are affected.

Legal Protections and Accommodations for PTSD and CPTSD

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) recognizes PTSD and CPTSD as disabilities. Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations to ensure employees with these conditions can perform their job duties, provided it does not impose undue hardship on the business.

Reasonable Accommodations Include:

  1. Flexible Work Hours: Allowing employees to adjust their start times or take additional breaks to manage their symptoms.
  2. Quiet or Private Workspace: Providing a less stressful environment by offering spaces away from high-traffic or noisy areas.
  3. Remote Work Options: Allowing employees to work from home can reduce anxiety for some individuals.
  4. Modified Job Responsibilities: Adjusting certain tasks that may be particularly stressful or triggering for the employee.
  5. Extended Leave: Employees may need time off for therapy or recovery, which should be allowed under both the ADA and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The FMLA provides job-protected leave for employees dealing with medical issues, including mental health conditions like PTSD or CPTSD. Employees are eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for medical treatment, including psychological therapy.

Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals: Key Differences and Legal Considerations

Understanding the difference between service animals and emotional support animals (ESAs) is critical in the workplace, especially regarding access rights, required training, and legal questions that can be asked.

Service Animals

Service animals are specifically trained to perform tasks for individuals with disabilities. For those with PTSD or CPTSD, service animals can be trained to:

  • Interrupt anxiety or panic attacks.
  • Remind their handler to take medication.
  • Perform deep pressure therapy to reduce stress.
  • Create a physical barrier in crowded spaces.

Public Access and Legal Protections:
Under the ADA, service animals are allowed access to any public place where their handler goes, including workplaces. These animals must be dogs or miniature horses and are required to perform specific tasks directly related to their handler’s disability.

Training and Task-Specific Training:
Service animals undergo rigorous training to perform specific tasks that mitigate their handler’s disability. Task training includes learning how to respond to PTSD symptoms such as flashbacks, panic attacks, or disorientation.

Questions Employers Can Ask:

  1. “Is the animal required because of a disability?”
  2. “What task has the animal been trained to perform?”

Employers cannot ask for details about the employee’s disability, request documentation, or ask for a demonstration of the service animal’s task.

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs)

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) provide comfort to their owners but are not trained to perform specific tasks. They are not covered under the ADA’s public access rights and, generally, do not have the same workplace accommodations as service animals.

Key Differences:

  • ESAs can be a variety of animals (not just dogs or miniature horses).
  • They do not have task-specific training.
  • Public access rights do not apply, meaning employers are not obligated to allow them in the workplace unless voluntarily permitted.

Creating a Supportive and Accommodating Work Environment

Employees with PTSD or CPTSD benefit greatly from structured routines, clear communication, and compassionate support in the workplace. Here are key ways employers and co-workers can create an environment that fosters well-being.

Establishing Routines and Schedules

People with PTSD and CPTSD often find that predictable schedules and routines help reduce anxiety and create a sense of stability.

Actionable Steps for Employers:

  1. Consistent Scheduling: Try to maintain a regular work schedule with minimal changes. Sudden alterations in shifts or expectations can be particularly stressful.
  2. Clear Deadlines: Ensure that deadlines are clearly communicated and that employees have adequate time to complete tasks. Unnecessary pressure can exacerbate anxiety.
  3. Task Prioritization: Help employees prioritize tasks to reduce feelings of overwhelm. Break large tasks into smaller, manageable steps.

Approaching Employees to Avoid Startling Them

Employees with PTSD/CPTSD may be hyperalert to their surroundings, which can make unexpected interruptions or confrontations particularly distressing.

Helpful Approaches:

  1. Announce Yourself: When approaching an employee who appears focused or busy, gently announce yourself before getting close. Avoid standing behind them without notice, as this can trigger a startle response.
  2. Respect Personal Space: Maintain a respectful distance and avoid sudden movements or loud noises.
  3. Soft, Clear Communication: Use a calm tone and direct language. People with PTSD/CPTSD may be especially sensitive to body language, tone, and non-verbal cues, so ensure your communication is clear, respectful, and non-threatening.

Conflict Resolution and People-Pleasing Tendencies

Many people with CPTSD develop people-pleasing tendencies as a survival mechanism. They may avoid conflict or struggle to assert their needs, which can be problematic in high-stress workplace environments.

Key Strategies for Employers and Co-workers:

  • Foster a Conflict-Free Environment: Encourage open, non-confrontational communication and assure employees that their opinions are valued.
  • Offer Opportunities for Input: Invite employees to share their thoughts in private or small settings where they feel more comfortable. This reduces anxiety and helps them avoid conflict-driven avoidance.
  • Recognize People-Pleasing Behavior: Be aware that some employees may say “yes” to extra work or stressful tasks because they fear disappointing others. Regular check-ins about workload and stress levels can help ensure they are not taking on too much.

Handling Triggers and Hyperalertness

Employees with PTSD/CPTSD often display heightened sensitivity to body language, tone, and subtle changes in their environment. This hyperalertness can sometimes cause employees to misinterpret situations or react strongly to perceived threats.

Approaching with Sensitivity:

  • Non-threatening Body Language: Keep your posture relaxed and maintain appropriate eye contact. Avoid crossing your arms or standing too close, as this may be perceived as intimidating.
  • Direct Communication: Avoid sarcasm or passive-aggressive comments, as people with PTSD/CPTSD are often sensitive to perceived hostility.
  • Patience with Misunderstandings: If an employee misinterprets your tone or body language, calmly clarify the situation without becoming defensive. Remember that their heightened perception of threats is tied to their trauma.

Recognizing Signs of Distress and Triggered Behavior

It’s important for employers and co-workers to be aware of potential signs that an employee with PTSD or CPTSD may be triggered or in distress.

Common Signs:

  • Emotional Dysregulation: Sudden mood swings or emotional outbursts.
  • Avoidance: Withdrawal from meetings, projects, or social situations.
  • Physical Symptoms: Shaking, sweating, or difficulty breathing.
  • Dissociation: Zoning out or appearing detached from the present moment.

What to Do if an Employee is Triggered:

  • Provide a Safe Space: Offer the employee a quiet room where they can gather themselves if they appear overwhelmed.
  • Check-In Gently: Ask, “Is everything okay?” in a calm, non-pressuring manner, and offer them space if needed.
  • Avoid Pressuring for Explanations: Allow the employee to share information only if they feel comfortable. Respect their need for privacy.

Conclusion: Fostering a Trauma-Informed Workplace

Supporting employees with PTSD or CPTSD requires a combination of legal compliance, empathy, and effective communication. By recognizing the unique challenges these individuals face and creating tailored accommodations, employers and co-workers can cultivate a work environment that promotes well-being, inclusivity, and productivity.

Whether it involves providing structured routines, approaching employees with care, or understanding the role of service and emotional support animals, every effort to create a trauma-informed workplace helps employees with PTSD/CPTSD thrive professionally.

References

  • American Psychological Association. (n.d.). PTSD: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/ptsd
  • U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2020). The ADA: Your Employment Rights as an Individual With a Disability. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov
  • National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). (n.d.). Mental Health in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://www.nami.org
  • Harvard Health Publishing. (2020). Trauma and the Brain: How Trauma Affects Mental and Physical Health. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu

Disclaimer:
This article is a blogpost that is not written under the direction of any of the above government or private entities. It is for informational use to help compile resources and inform the public, but is not meant to be used as a legal resource in any way.

For more information about Service and Emotional Support animals, see our blogpost called
General Guide to Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals in the United States: A Resource for People with PTSD, C-PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety

For more information about Disabilities in the Workplace, visit here
https://www.ada.gov/

Supporting Employees with PTSD and CPTSD: An Informative Guide for Employers and Co-workers (2024) www.PTSDFlighttoFreedom.com

© 2024 Renee Neal Thompson All Rights Reserved 

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