Trauma in Organizations: Triggering Organizational Trauma and the Trauma Model

Abstract

A crisis always triggers some measure of trauma. At moderate levels, the trauma may be associated with little more than a memory of the event triggering the crisis. Think of the first time you were in a car accident. In short, even with moderate, non-extreme trauma, the mere fact that you remember the triggering event illustrates the “trauma tag” you’re left with to this day.

Next consider the trauma you experienced that related to some organization. You may have been treated rudely at a restaurant, discriminated against, overlooked when looking for a job or worked in a harassing environment. The memories you have associated with these events are yet more trauma tags, and the ways you’ve made sense of them (or not) are the effects of both the events and the trauma you experienced.