Building a Trauma-Informed Workplace (Part 4 of 6)
Peer Support and Collaboration
Reading time: 5 to 7 minutes
One of the most powerful antidotes to stress and burnout is connection. In trauma-informed workplaces, peer support and collaboration are more than optional—they are essential for resilience. No one can carry the weight of this work alone, nor should they have to.
Isolation is a well-documented risk factor for burnout and turnover in human services. Conversely, strong peer relationships buffer against secondary trauma, promote job satisfaction, and increase organizational loyalty (Sprang et al., 2019). Collaboration also builds collective capacity: when teams share knowledge and resources, clients benefit from more coordinated, consistent services.
When peer support and collaboration are prioritized:
Staff feel less alone in their work, knowing they can turn to colleagues for debriefing, perspective, and encouragement.
Supervisors find relief in collaborative problem-solving, reducing the pressure to have all the answers.
Administrators strengthen organizational culture by fostering cross-team cooperation and reducing silos.
What does this look like in practice?
For staff, it might mean creating a quick peer huddle after a particularly difficult client session, even just 10 minutes to decompress and share perspective.
For supervisors, collaboration can be modeled in team meetings by inviting staff to bring not just problems, but also possible solutions, to the table.
For administrators, collaboration can be embedded structurally, such as cross-department mentorship programs or scheduled inter-team check-ins.
Research confirms that intentional peer support systems increase resilience and reduce the negative effects of exposure to trauma in service professions (Perron & Hiltz, 2020). Collaboration shifts the culture from “every person for themselves” to “we’re in this together.”
We must take a serious look at how much space and permission we give for peer support in our organizations. When staff feel pressured to work in isolation or competition, both well-being and service quality suffer. But when collaboration is encouraged and modeled, everyone—staff, supervisors, administrators, and clients—wins.
Try this strategy: Each day, make one intentional “connection moment”—send a note of gratitude, ask a colleague how they are doing, or check in with a peer.
Something to ponder: When have I felt most supported at work, and what made that possible?