Leading UX team through crisis and trauma

A practical guide for design leads to helping team members in stress.

Terrible things inevitably happen in our communities and we, as UX leaders, might not be properly trained to handle them. It’s normal to feel lost when you observe someone in your team is experiencing stress or trauma, or worse, you can be in crisis yourself.

That’s why I believe it’s important to familiarise ourselves with world’s best practices on dealing with traumas.

Psychological first aid (PFA) is an established research-based guide from WHO, which is aimed specifically for people in a position to help others, who have experienced traumatic events.

For a real deep-dive see this link, while in the article I will mostly adapt the guide to the situations most common in our work environment.

How do crisis events affect people

First thing you need to know, that people may experience various different reactions during stress situations. Anything from agitation til numbness is normal and possible.

Bear that in mind when you observe your team during disruptive events. Listen carefully, some people may not want to share their feelings at work, but it doesn’t mean they don’t need support.

Pay closer attention if a person:

• Looks more tired than usual
• Suddenly show irritation or…