Earlier this month, a quick trip to the grocery store — one that was supposed to be followed by me coming home to shoot content — turned into me sitting there paralyzed. Unable to get any words out.

At the store I ran into one of the employees who I’ve met before and who loves my country — he's been to Panama multiple times. We started speaking Spanish because that's what we do. Someone nearby was bothered by it. And they let us know.

I drove home scanning my rearview mirror, wondering if I was being followed, wondering if speaking my language just put me on someone's radar. My husband, who's American, even suggested that maybe I shouldn’t speak Spanish in public. And I get it. But I also can't live like that.

I was supposed to come home and shoot video content. Instead I just sat there thinking: How do you turn on a camera and say "Hi, let's talk about personal branding!" when you're not even sure you're safe?

This weekend, a federal agent killed a citizen at a protest. My feed is full of people debating what creators should or shouldn't be saying. Who's spoken up. Who hasn't. And I keep thinking: if I'm feeling this paralysis, so are our employees.

Earlier this month, Jeffrey Fermin posted about wanting to create content about his industry. But he couldn't. "The news cycle reminds you every single day that the world feels pretty f*cking awful. I'll try again next week." I knew we had to talk about this on my podcast.

When we talked, he told me this: There are ICE agents at the park where he plays basketball every day. He's an American citizen, born here, and he still gets scared walking to the court. He said:

That exhaustion is real. And some of your employees are carrying it right now. They're showing up to work, but they're not fully there. And it’s not because they don't care about their jobs, but because they're trying to figure out how to keep themselves and their families safe before they can figure out how to contribute to a meeting.

The quiet person in your standup who used to always have ideas? They might be doom scrolling at night and barely sleeping. The employee who seems "fine" and focused? They might be shutting down as a way to get through the day.

Silence doesn't always mean someone has nothing to say. Sometimes it means they're trying to survive the moment before they can speak on it.

If you're a creator wondering what to say right now — or you're running an EGC program and wondering what to tell your team — here's what I keep coming back to.

Silence isn't failure. It's not a sign you don't care. Sometimes it's the only way to protect yourself while you process. You don't owe anyone a statement. You don't owe anyone your trauma packaged into a LinkedIn post. If you need to step back, step back. Your audience will still be there.

Showing up as yourself is the statement. You can post about your work. You can share something helpful. You can just be present without performing grief or outrage for engagement. Not every post needs to be about the moment. Sometimes just being human in public — continuing to exist and create — is enough.

I know you have content calendars. I know there are campaigns planned. But before you ask employees for content, ask them how they're doing. Check in as a human first. Some of your employees might be scared to even show their face on camera right now. Some might be questioning whether visibility is safe for them. That's real. Honor it.

Don't send the "excited to share!" prompts like nothing is happening. Don't expect business-as-usual content from people who are barely holding it together. If you have to post something for the brand, fine. But don't put that weight on employees who are already carrying too much.

 And if you're an HR or TA leader trying to figure out how to hold space for your team while also processing your own fear and exhaustion, give yourself grace. You can't pour from an empty cup. It's okay to not have answers. It's okay to say "I'm struggling with this too."

 Jeffrey and I spoke about all of this on the Workfluencer Podcast — what happens when the news makes it impossible to focus, when doom scrolling kills your creative energy, when you're trying to show up for your audience but can barely show up for yourself.

 This isn't my typical episode format. There's no polished interview structure. It's two creators — two people who happen to be Hispanic, who happen to work in the HR space — being honest about how hard this moment is.

 If you're feeling the weight right now, or if you want to better understand what some of your employees might be carrying, I think this conversation will resonate.

The episode is available now wherever you get your podcasts. Here’s the link.

 Until next time.