The Empathetic Workplace: 5 Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma On the Job

by Katharine Manning

This critical resource gives managers, HR, and anyone who may come into contact with someone in trauma—including workplace violence, harassment, assault, illness, addiction, fraud, bankruptcy, and more—the tools they need to be prepared for what lies ahead. This book is crucial for every manager or HR representative who shouldn’t just prepare to one day be faced with a report of a traumatic experience at work, but plan on it. This five-step method will help managers make survivors feel supported and understood. The Empathetic Workplace guides supervisors of any level through an understanding of how stories of trauma impact the brain of both the survivor and the listener, as well as the tools to handle the interaction appropriately, to help the listener, the organization, and most importantly, the survivor. The easy-to-follow LASER method outlined in these pages includes the following elements that all managers should know and The LASER technique can benefit all who are responsible for others, from top-tier managers at Fortune 500 companies to Residence Advisors in college dormitories.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Management, Self Help, Leadership, Professional Development

208 pages, Paperback

Published February 16, 2021

About the author

Katharine Manning has over 25 years’ experience training and consulting on trauma and victimization. As a senior attorney advisor with the Justice Department, for 15 years she counseled on victim rights in high-profile cases like the Boston Marathon bombing, the Pulse nightclub and South Carolina church shootings, the Charlottesville violence, Bernie Madoff, and the case against Olympic Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. Now President of Blackbird, Manning helps organizations prepare for and respond to the challenges they face involving members of the public and employees in trauma. She has trained thousands of individuals on compliance with their responsibilities to victims, and she teaches a course on victim rights at American University. Prior to her government service, Manning was an attorney in private practice representing Fortune 500 companies in class actions, insurance, and media cases. Find her at www.katharinemanning.com

Reviews

[Laurie Ruettimann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since the pandemic took hold, empathy and compassion have become buzzwords. What does it truly mean to listen and care for your fellow workers? In this timely and extremely helpful book, Katharine Manning lays out a specific framework with language to use in difficult situations that arise in your everyday workplaces.

I recommend this book for new managers, seasoned leaders, and HR departments who are trying to implement more human-centric policies and programs and need a place to start.

[Katherine Schweit]

This is a good book to read now when all of the world seems to make no sense. It helps remind me of how much we can support each other.

[Bethany (bookish.bethany) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happy #PubDay to THE EMPATHETIC WORKPLACE by Katharine Manning, and thank you to @booksforwardpr, @hcleadership, and @empatheticworkplace for a copy to review! For fans of leadership or relationship books, like CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS, LEADERS EAT LAST, or 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE, this new book focuses on how to empathetically respond when people share their trauma with you.

As the title suggests, it is focused on the workplace, but this book would honestly be good for so many situations - including when friends or family share information with you. As a student affairs professional, I am often someone college students trust their stories with; I have sat with a woman as she disclosed her sexual assault to me, have served on-call during a student death by suicide and the community response to it, and have listened to students share their family struggles after they came out as gay. And I definitely would have felt more confident responding in those situations had I had this book earlier in my career.

Manning gives you a five-step method for actively staying present in that moment, supporting whomever is sharing, and not letting our natural instinct to avoid the trauma or make it about ourselves kick in. It’s a shorter read, especially for a leadership book, and was written in a readable and accessible way (I found that many leadership books aren’t).

I know leadership books are a special type of nonfiction, so have you read any or have any you recommend?

https://www.instagram.com/bookish.bet...

[Colleen T · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are all people. We experience and we feel, and sometimes what we are feeling is from a traumatic experience. Its effects can follow us to work and affect our performance, productivity, and interactions with our co-workers. When we approach a trusted professional, such as our supervisor, human resources, or c-suite executive, we want (or at least hope) for them to be equipped to handle the situation with the best resources necessary or at least point you in the right direction to obtain help. That's where this book comes into play.

I thought that Katherine Manning did a great job outlining the LASER method (Listen, Acknowledge, Share, Empower, and Return). An important characteristic of a manager or leader within an organization is empathy, and even if a manager can't exhibit this naturally, this book will do a great job to teach someone in this role to handle an employee that brings forth an experience with which they need assistance, whether it took place in or outside of the office. Obviously, the book is called "The Empathetic Workplace", and I could feel the empathy in the way that Manning details this method, but also in the examples that she uses to illustrate each point.

It is imperative for a manager or leader within an organization, small or large, to pick up this book. If a manager wants to be able to establish trust, a sense of camaraderie, and compassion within their workplace, this is the book to teach you that.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Empathetic Workplace: 5 Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma On the Job by Katharine Manning
Publisher: HarperCollins Leadership
Genre: Self-Help
Release Date: February 16, 2021

The Empathetic Workplace: 5 Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma On the Job by Katharine Manning is a fascinating read. One of my roles at my previous job was to work with people deal with "critical incidents" (traumatic death of a coworker, threat of violence in the workplace, etc.) so I was drawn to this book!

While called something else, the process described is very similar to the CISM approach. It was refreshing to see that the methods I used can be applied in other situations.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who supervises or supports a team. This will make a great reference book and will come in handy. The tools shared in this book will help grow trust among your team and make you a better leader.

I'm so grateful to Katharine Manning, HarperCollins Leadership, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

[Patrick Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have managed teams in tech startups, medical software and device companies, and professional service organizations. In my experience, the best managers do more than project manage, they provide an environment in which their people can grow and thrive. In any organization, people will experience trauma, whether in the workplace directly or simply as a consequence of life outside of work. The best managers have the tools necessary to support their people through these traumatic experiences.

The Empathetic Workplace is a wonderfully useful book for me in growing the skills I need to support people experiencing trauma. This book has provided me with a practical roadmap based on the LASER method: Listen. Acknowledge. Share. Empower. Return.

I believe that this book can help you build a business environment that empowers its people to make it through difficult times and support each other in truly meaningful ways.

[sinag · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 stars!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I appreciate what this book is trying to do and I acknowledge that other people can still get something out of it. However, I wished it was more direct in showing the points the author wanted us to get. I keep getting sidetracked to other details and information that I did not sign up for when I requested this and I don't like that. Also, the writing style isn't engaging enough to make me enjoy the reading experience with this book.

[Srinivasan Tatachari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me a very detailed look into any situation dealing with trauma at the workplace, and how to be ready to handle the situation. The LASER framework is very neat and is beautifully expanded with details. I think this book will be a great resource to have in any HR team and should also be of good reference to any manager or team leader who may have to face a colleague who comes in to report a concern.

[Michelle Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can we create caring relationships in our workplaces, communities, and home life? Using the L.A.S.E.R. method Katharine Manning delivers an easy-to-remember process to guide us through everyday practices of caring for friends and loved ones to supporting strangers, co-workers, and everything in between. Excellent resource for all but especially important for those in community-facing positions and management roles.

[Elizabeth Rieland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manning's book The Empathetic Workplace is the book that all professionals need to read with the trauma from social injustice ever present, COVID grief and stress changing daily and the traditional work issues that haven't disappeared. HR partners and managers alike would benefit from the specific steps that Katherine Manning outlined to respond to any revolution. The five step method is easy to follow and simply described to remember when needed.

[oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

genuinely a really good and helpful book