Work can be a source of meaning, connection and fulfilment. But when a workplace becomes exclusionary, unpredictable or psychologically unsafe, it can profoundly affect a person’s wellbeing and their relationship with work.
In this episode of The Ikigai Podcast, I speak with Dorothy Dalton, a gender-balance and inclusive-workplace champion whose career spans human resources, inclusive recruitment, talent development and trauma-informed coaching.
Our conversation explores how workplace trauma can develop, why organisations often fail to recognise their role in causing it, and how ikigai can support the gradual process of recovery.
Dorothy’s message is both practical and deeply human: people need safety, meaningful roles and everyday sources of value—not simply greater resilience, a more impressive job title or another corporate wellbeing initiative.
Dorothy Dalton
Dorothy Dalton is a gender-balance and inclusive-workplace champion with decades of experience in human resources, inclusive recruitment and talent development. Combining cognitive behavioural coaching, trauma-informed practice and ikigai, she helps organisations create diverse, inclusive and psychologically safe workplaces aligned with their business goals.
Recognised as one of the 100 most influential figures in HR over the past decade, Dorothy has produced multiple eBooks, a handbook on workplace sexism and online courses that have reached hundreds of thousands of people worldwide
Work can be a source of meaning, connection and fulfilment. But when a workplace becomes exclusionary, unpredictable or psychologically unsafe, it can profoundly affect a person’s wellbeing and their relationship with work.
In this episode of The Ikigai Podcast, I speak with Dorothy Dalton, a gender-balance and inclusive-workplace champion whose career spans human resources, inclusive recruitment, talent development and trauma-informed coaching.
Our conversation explores how workplace trauma can develop, why organisations often fail to recognise their role in causing it, and how ikigai can support the gradual process of recovery.
Dorothy’s message is both practical and deeply human: people need safety, meaningful roles and everyday sources of value—not simply greater resilience, a more impressive job title or another corporate wellbeing initiative.
Workplace trauma is not always a single event
When we hear the word trauma, we often imagine a single catastrophic event: an accident, a disaster or a sudden loss. Workplace trauma, however, can develop gradually.
Repeated microaggressions, exclusion, bullying, job insecurity and relentless pressure may slowly wear a person down. No single incident appears decisive, yet the cumulative effect of being ignored in meetings, excluded from decisions, threatened with redundancy or subjected to a toxic manager can be deeply damaging.
Dorothy noted that workplace bullying and harassment were often more overt in previous decades. Today, as openly abusive behaviour is more likely to carry consequences, mistreatment can take subtler forms. Exclusion, ambiguity and silence may be harder to identify, but they can be no less harmful.
Someone experiencing workplace trauma may live with anticipatory anxiety, always waiting for the next criticism, exclusion or piece of bad news. They may become disconnected from colleagues, lose confidence in their judgement or begin to question the value of what they do.
This is an important distinction: the problem is not necessarily a lack of personal resilience. Sometimes the workplace itself is the source of the injury.
When resilience becomes corporate gaslighting
One of the strongest themes in our conversation was what Dorothy described as corporate gaslighting: shifting responsibility onto the employee while ignoring the conditions that created their distress.
An employee experiencing burnout may be told to become more resilient, manage their time better or seek treatment. These responses place the burden of recovery on the individual without questioning the excessive workload, chaotic systems, ambiguous leadership or persistent disrespect surrounding them.
Personal resilience can be valuable, but it cannot make an unsafe environment healthy.
Dorothy also placed this problem within the pressures of contemporary working life. Constant connectivity, job insecurity, social-media hostility and uncertainty surrounding AI leave many people feeling increasingly exposed. Instead of being a stable place in which to contribute, work can become another source of threat.
This is why psychosocial safety matters. A workplace may appear functional on paper while feeling unsafe to the people within it. If employees are afraid to speak honestly, are routinely excluded or believe that difference will be punished, a declaration of corporate values will not make the culture inclusive.
Beginning recovery with small sources of ikigai
Dorothy uses ikigai in her coaching as a means of helping people reconnect with life after workplace trauma. The process depends on the person and where they are in their recovery, but her approach begins gently: restore a sense of safety, notice what remains meaningful and build from there.
When overwhelmed, people can feel pressured to make a dramatic decision—to resign, reinvent their career or discover the perfect new role. Yet recovery does not need to begin with a grand plan. It might begin with a morning coffee, a walk, time with someone you trust or a familiar ritual that brings a moment of calm.
These experiences may appear small, but ikigai is often found in the ordinary. Noticing what offers even a slight sense of enjoyment, connection or aliveness can be the first step towards rebuilding a life that feels worth engaging with.
Gratitude can also help us recognise these sources. Before we can articulate a new purpose or direction, we may first need to notice what is already sustaining us.
Importantly, work does not need to provide every source of ikigai. For some people, work is meaningful. For others, it is primarily a way to earn a living. Their strongest sources of ikigai may be found in family, friendships, hobbies, community, sport, volunteering or caring for others.
This is why reducing ikigai to the search for a dream job can be so unhelpful—particularly for someone recovering from a harmful workplace. Ikigai offers a broader way of reconnecting with what makes life feel meaningful and worthwhile.
Trauma-informed coaching can help create the safety necessary for this exploration. Ikigai can then help a person rediscover the experiences, relationships and roles that give their life value.
We are more than our job titles
Our conversation also turned to the danger of allowing one’s identity to become entirely dependent on work.
When a job has provided status, structure, relationships and a sense of usefulness for decades, losing it through redundancy or retirement can be profoundly disorienting. The person loses more than income. They may also lose a familiar role, a social world and an answer to the question, “Who am I?”
Dorothy therefore advocates beginning pre-retirement planning well before the final year of employment. This means developing interests, nurturing relationships and finding meaningful roles beyond one’s profession while there is still time to make them part of everyday life.
She shared the example of volunteer advisers in Japan who help older men transition into new social roles after retirement. The context may be Japanese, but the underlying need is universal: life needs roles through which we can participate, contribute and feel valued.
Purpose need not be grand or impressive. It may be expressed through mentoring someone younger, caring for family, coaching a local team, volunteering or contributing consistently to a community. What matters is the felt sense that our presence and actions have value.
The message is not that work should be unimportant. Work can—and ideally should—be a source of ikigai. But it is healthier when it is one of several sources rather than the sole foundation of our identity.
Building workplaces that do not cause harm
If workplace trauma can arise from organisational culture, then recovery cannot be treated solely as an individual responsibility. Leaders must be willing to examine the environment they have created.
When employees are anxious, disengaged or exhausted, the first response should not be to question their resilience. Leaders should ask what within the system may be contributing to their distress. Is the workload sustainable? Are expectations clear? Do managers communicate respectfully? Are people included in the decisions that affect them? Can they speak openly without fearing retaliation?
Psychosocial safety is expressed through everyday behaviour: whether people are acknowledged, included, listened to and permitted to be themselves. Small interactions may appear inconsequential, but their cumulative effect shapes whether a workplace feels like an ibasho—a place where someone can belong, contribute and feel accepted.
There is also an opportunity to bring ikigai into workplace development in a culturally informed and practical way. It should not be used as another wellbeing slogan or as a demand that every employee find their passion at work. Instead, it can open conversations about meaning, relationships, contribution, sustainable ways of working and the roles through which people feel valued.
During our conversation, I shared an idea inspired by ikigai aught and neuroscientist Ken Mogi, the role of a Chief Ikigai Officer: someone responsible for helping an organisation think more intentionally about meaning, safety and contribution.
Whatever title an organisation chooses, the question behind it is worth asking:
What would it take to create a workplace where people not only perform, but feel safe, valued and able to thrive?
A healthier relationship with work
Recovery from workplace trauma is rarely a straight or dramatic journey. It may begin quietly, through the rediscovery of a small joy, a trusted relationship or a role beyond work that reminds someone they still have something meaningful to offer.
Ikigai does not remove the need for organisations to address harmful systems, nor does it place responsibility for workplace trauma back onto the person experiencing it. Its value lies in helping people reconnect with the sources of meaning, connection and hope that trauma may have obscured.
Work should be a source of ikigai—not a source of anxiety or pain. And a workplace should be an ibasho: a place where people feel safe enough to belong and empowered to contribute.
Frequently asked questions
What is workplace trauma?
Workplace trauma is psychological distress associated with harmful working conditions or experiences, including bullying, exclusion, chronic stress, threats and repeated microaggressions. It may result from a single event or accumulate gradually over time.
Can ikigai help someone recover from a toxic workplace?
Ikigai can help a person reconnect with everyday sources of meaning, valued relationships and purposeful roles. It is best explored gradually and, where appropriate, alongside trauma-informed professional support. It does not replace the organisation’s responsibility to address harmful conditions.
Does work need to be a person’s ikigai?
No. Work can be one source of ikigai, but people may also experience ikigai through family, friendships, hobbies, community involvement, caring, learning or volunteering. Having several sources of meaning can prevent one role from carrying the entire weight of a person’s identity.
How can employers reduce workplace trauma?
Employers can reduce the risk of workplace trauma by addressing bullying and exclusion, creating manageable workloads, clarifying expectations, training leaders, establishing trustworthy reporting processes and fostering psychosocial safety. They must also examine systemic causes rather than treating employee distress solely as an individual resilience problem.
Why is pre-retirement planning important?
Retirement can involve the loss of structure, identity, relationships and a valued social role. Planning early gives people time to cultivate interests, relationships and meaningful roles that will continue beyond their formal employment.
