Reframing Workplace Well-being: Compassionate Leadership and the Organisational Experience of Trauma Survivors

About the Project

This PhD project critically examines how Compassionate Leadership can enhance organisational support for trauma survivors and contribute to the development of sustainable workplace wellbeing mechanisms. While Compassionate Leadership is increasingly recognised as a transformative leadership approach, its application to the lived experiences of trauma survivors in organisational settings remains underexplored.

Trauma resulting from adverse experiences—such as sexual abuse, physical violence, or emotional neglect—can have enduring psychological, relational, and occupational consequences that extend into adulthood. These impacts often shape individuals’ workplace experiences, influencing disclosure decisions, engagement, performance, and overall wellbeing. Despite growing organisational attention to mental health, existing research has largely centred on general wellbeing initiatives or disability accommodations, leaving a critical gap in understanding how leadership practices can specifically support trauma survivors.

Drawing on the work of Paul Gilbert, Compassionate Leadership is defined as a sensitivity to suffering in self and others coupled with a commitment to alleviate and prevent it. Within organisational contexts, this extends beyond interpersonal empathy to the design of systems, cultures, and practices that prioritise psychological safety and relational trust. Emerging evidence suggests that compassionate organisational cultures are associated with higher staff engagement, motivation, and wellbeing; however, little is known about how these cultures are experienced by trauma survivors or how leaders can intentionally foster them.

Adopting a qualitative, phenomenological methodology, this study will explore the lived experiences of trauma survivors alongside the perspectives of line managers, organisational leaders, and mental health and wellbeing professionals within a defined UK sector. In-depth semi-structured interviews will enable rich, experience-based accounts of workplace dynamics, leadership behaviours, and disclosure processes. The project will further incorporate knowledge-into-practice exchange discussions with organisational leaders to co-produce contextually grounded insights and practical guidance.

By shifting the analytical focus from the origins of trauma to workplace relationships and leadership behaviours, this research advances a novel, relational understanding of survivor support. The project aims to generate both theoretical contributions to leadership and organisational scholarship and practical frameworks for implementing Compassionate Leadership strategies. In doing so, it seeks to inform inclusive leadership development, strengthen workplace wellbeing systems, and support trauma survivors in realising their full professional potential.

Supervisors