What HR leaders should do when world events hit the workplace

The business impacts of the conflicts in Iran, Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere dominate the headlines. Missing from social media feeds and push notifications? The impact felt by America’s workforce every day.

War and global instability increase uncertainty in the workplace, with significant implications for employees, managers, and corporations alike. And organizations are operating in an environment of overwhelmingly connected crises: economic uncertainty, cyber threats, public health emergencies and climate events. 

Conflict can impact employees through military obligations, family connections abroad, caregiving responsibilities, immigration concerns or financial pressures. For people who are directly affected, such as employees with family in a war-torn region, the impacts can be more severe, including depression, anxiety and trauma-related symptoms. As researchers who studied these impacts said in an NIH report earlier this year, “Armed conflict leaves psychological scars far beyond borders.”

Even employees with no direct connection to a conflict can be affected, whether through the increased stress that comes with disruption or through more tangible impacts, such as higher gas prices. A 2025 Workforce Mental Health Report by Modern Health shows that 75% of employees experience a low mood in some way and that politics, current affairs and global political turmoil are primary drivers. Current events top crime and finances on the list of negative influences. 

The need to address operational continuity, workforce flexibility, employee well-being, and crisis response has simultaneously exposed gaps in corporate policy and operational strategy. Too many companies treat these conflicts as one-off crises, only to find themselves caught in a reactive loop of perpetual emergency response. In 2026, we can’t be asking whether another incident will occur. Instead, the question should be: “Do we have the right systems and processes to respond?”

A better plan is to make crisis preparedness a permanent component of workforce strategy, an “always on” approach capable of protecting employees and minimizing disruption even as instability becomes the norm. 

Small and mid-sized companies are not immune. Employees experience the same disruptions regardless of where or how they work. Ignoring these disruptions, or treating them with short-term solutions, can reduce morale, productivity, and retention.

And it goes beyond the personal to the operational: affecting workforce availability, travel, project timelines, succession planning, product delivery, and even customer service. 

So, what can HR do?  

Begin by bringing together leaders from every part of your organization to collectively evaluate workforce vulnerabilities. Outlining in advance how the company will make decisions, protect business operations, implement workforce adjustments, communicate necessary information, and care for employees can significantly improve your ability to respond effectively in real time. 

To protect your organization’s most important resources — the employees who keep it running — ensure that, as an HR leader, your team is part of the planning.  

Likewise, clear and consistent employee communication, including insight into decision-making, will also help reinforce trust and confidence. And another important part of fostering a supportive culture is creating opportunities for respectful conversations where employees feel heard. By establishing clear channels for employees to raise concerns, ask questions and discuss how global events may be affecting them, business leaders can enable constructive dialogue, reinforce inclusion and often help to prevent tension from escalating.

Training managers to recognize signs of employee distress can also help. Front-line managers are usually the ones most familiar with their direct reports’ behavior. Employees who feel “psychological safety,” meaning they feel comfortable speaking honestly about their concerns, are less likely to feel tense or stressed, to experience emotional exhaustion or to believe that work has a negative impact on their mental health, according to a 2024 American Psychological Association report.  

Providing and facilitating access to a strong employee assistance program can also help. A 2025 study that examined more than 166,000 employees who used EAP services found that 79% recovered from anxiety or depression and 61% from workplace productivity problems. 

Where to go from here

Employees are increasingly evaluating whether employers can provide stability, flexibility, and credible leadership during uncertain times. An employer’s response during difficult moments can significantly influence trust, engagement, and retention in the long term. 

We cannot change the pace of world events, but we can control how we respond. Crisis plans are no longer three-hole punched and placed in binders on a shelf. Preparedness must become an “always-on” capability, scalable for organizations of all sizes and supported by multi-disciplinary teams. The best-prepared businesses will be those continually evaluating policies and operational plans, strengthening employee trust, and supporting health and well-being — ensuring resilience in a turbulent world.