Administration officials have issued guidance for agencies to help their employees “positively cope with stress that can occur as a result of incidents of societal tension that have a racial, or other identity consideration,” based on recommendations from the Diversity and Inclusion in Government Council.
“As a general rule, use your best judgment on the appropriate time to offer an informal forum for employees in your agency to process social unrest. This may be especially important if large numbers of your team are in an area directly impacted by an incident. Members of our teams do not leave their personal lives at the door, and providing safe spaces in the workplace results in deeper employee engagement,” says the guidance issued jointly by OPM, EEOC and Labor.
“If the President has issued remarks about a particular incident or series of incidents, it is likely heavily impacting members of your team. A best practice is to use the President’s statements as the context for communicating with your employees. Sharing guidance for your senior leadership team around engaging employees, particularly those in the field, is also advised,” it adds.
Potential steps include: “sending an agency-wide communication acknowledging there are events happening across the country surfacing tensions that may be causing team members pain or stress”; referring employees to resources such as the employee assistance program or employee affinity groups; host a town hall meeting or listening session, making sure to include employees working remotely or in the field; and sponsor regular cultural activities and dialogue sessions, beyond required special emphasis programs, “to educate employees about conditions and forces that help shape a group’s identity.”
Senior leadership, diversity and inclusion officers, EEO officers and employee resource groups should be involved, it says.