How HR leaders can address the Israel-Hamas war with employees

The news from the Israel-Hamas war is affecting everyone, and HR leaders, as well as the entire C-suite, have important roles to play in communicating with and supporting their employees. One communication expert offered HR Brew advice on best practices.

Reality check. As a people leader, the first step is to acknowledge what’s happening, Deborah Grayson Riegel, a communication and leadership expert who has taught at Columbia and Wharton Business Schools, said.

“It’s bad news for everyone, but different perspectives of bad news,” Grayson Riegel told HR Brew.

HR leaders should process and “separate out” their personal feelings about the events with a loved one or colleague, she advised, and acknowledge, “‘I’m feeling angry about X,’ or, ‘I’m feeling embarrassed that I don’t have feelings like [I think] I’m supposed to,’” before having conversations with employees.

“The first work that you need to do is on yourself, to recognize that you may have some biases that show up in a conversation,” Grayson Riegel said. “It may be helpful as a [HR] person to acknowledge the truth…my job as a human resources leader is not to let my personal opinions impact how I equitably support everyone.”

HR, in partnership with C-suite leaders, can then issue a statement recognizing the war and its effects on employees. Many companies, including Pfizer, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Oracle, and BlackRock, have already taken this step.

Grayson Riegel said HR leaders can also offer employees office hours or an open invitation to just stop by for support. “HR needs to make itself available to people who are noticing that what is going on in the news is having some impact on them at work,” she told us.

What is (and isn’t) your job. During challenging times, Grayson Riegel said HR leaders need to clarify for employees what their responsibilities are and aren’t, and maintain boundaries. First, HR leaders shouldn’t take sides on issues, explain the news to employees, or share predictions about what they think might happen.

But their responsibilities should include reinforcing company values and policies around engaging in respectful dialogue. “Whatever your [company] values might be, it’s a good time to reinforce them and link them to how that is relevant to what’s going on today,” she said.

Supporting DE&I initiatives, reminding employees about employee assistance programs, and providing training on how to have conversations with employees during challenging times should also be at the top of your list, Grayson Riegel added.

“All of those are [your] job,” she said. “It’s a really good opportunity to make distinctions about what you are here for and what you are not.”