Guest blog by Benna Waites and Andrew Cooper, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, NHS Wales
By their very nature, employee investigations will cause considerable anxiety and distress to individuals who are being taken through them.
The experience activates the age-old threat responses of fight/flight and the corresponding physical and psychological responses: feelings of anxiety, confusion, mistrust and betrayal can be common.
Within a work context, it represents a major social threat which our minds and bodies are designed to take seriously. Consequently, the individual may be constantly in a state of hyper-vigilance: anticipating the worst and as a result, physically, cognitively and emotionally exhausted.
Whilst employee investigations are sometimes a necessary part of organisational life – an appreciation of the psychological impact by those who lead them and are involved in delivering them is critical for minimising the harm they can cause.
In a new paper which explores the impact of poorly applied human resources policies on individuals and organisations, we have used an individual’s experience (known as ‘Alex’) to highlight both the short and long-term harm on the mental health of an employee going through an investigation process. It seeks to make a contribution to an area where research is limited.
Whilst a retrospective approach was taken to diagnose the short-term impact on Alex, their reactions were entirely consistent with others who had faced similar experiences. Current experience was used to measure the longer-term impact, which suggested that Alex’s symptoms were consistent with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) many months after the investigation had concluded.
What are some of the reasons that employee investigations have the potential to cause so much harm?
Isolated at the worst time
When someone is informed that they are the subject of an investigation, they are often told not to discuss it with anyone. At a time when they need the most support to face a massive challenge in their lives, their work friends and colleagues are effectively declared ‘off limits’. This deprives them of the opportunity to make sense of what they are going through and removes the social contact that would mitigate and reduce stress.
Challenging identity
When our identity is so closely bound up with our work and what we do, an investigation brings these elements into question: threatening purpose, self-esteem and a sense of belonging. As a result, uncertainty about the future and catastrophic thinking can become overwhelming.
Change in relationships
Employees undergoing investigation may be investigated by people who may have previously been sources of support and approval. This combined with the inability to reach out to their network of peers in work can heighten distress.
Removing structure and confidence
An employee investigation can often remove the very structure of someone’s life – particularly if they are unable to attend the workplace due to suspension or sick leave. The lack of certainty about the future, whether that’s the outcome of the investigation or what it means for their working and wider life is highly destabilising. We know that mental health quickly deteriorates with unemployment and there are clear parallels here with the negative impact on quality of life.
Along with all these factors that contribute to harm, the length of the impact is often underestimated. In our case study, Alex had symptoms consistent with PTSD 14 months after the investigation concluded. Bringing individuals back into an organisation after one of these processes needs to be considered seriously and well supported. The sense of psychological safety for the employee will be significantly lower, with a reduced confidence to take interpersonal risks, for example, to speak up with an idea or concern.
Organisations have a responsibility and duty of care to look after the health and wellbeing of their people in equal measure to the processes they are running. Some ways in which they can do this include:
- Ensuring that the formal route of an investigation is the only option to take. If issues can be addressed through other routes that will always be the better option.
- Completing the investigation as quickly as possible. Those leading investigations need to be provided with dedicated time to complete the process as a matter of urgency so that unhelpful and unhealthy delays can be reduced.
- Regular and timely communication is crucial, even (and perhaps especially) when timescales slip. For an employee in a state of distress, regular communication from the investigating team becomes even more important; and yet sadly its importance is often underestimated and neglected.
- Developing support plans for the individual being investigated. Whilst there are good reasons for confidentiality and discretion, finding ways to provide as much support as possible during this time is crucial. This could include signposting to your organisation’s employee wellbeing services.
- Planning for post-investigation repair. Individuals returning to the workforce may need additional support to address anxieties and concerns that remain after the process. Care and support is needed at the conclusion of an investigation, with managers taking the time to check-in and being available and open to listen.
In their paper, Kafka Lives: Consideration of Psychological Wellbeing on Staff under Investigation Procedures in the NHS, Hussain highlights very similar issues and concerns to ours, in relation to employee investigations. The title “Kafka Lives” is indicative of the strength of feeling about the traumatising nature of these experiences and of the apparent loss of humanity that all too often surrounds them.
Benna Waites is joint Head of Psychology, Counselling and Arts Therapies at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in NHS Wales and clinical lead in Improvement Cymru.
Andrew Cooper is Head of the Avoidable Employee Harm Programme at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in NHS Wales.
They both contributed to the paper: The impact of poorly applied human resources policies on individuals and organisations, published by the British Journal of Healthcare Management.