Building Stress Resilience and Personnel Retention: Balancing “Work-Wellness” Steps and Strategies

[This Q & A was written for Workforce.com]

 

Dear Workforce:

I am an HR generalist at a nonprofit social-services agency that deals with domestic violence.  Due to the nature of the work, we have always experienced a turnover rate between 30-40%.  I have two questions in one:  1) Is our turnover similar to benchmark data for this line of work and 2) Knowing we can't change the stressful nature of the work, how do we help keep our best people from burning out?

Stress is Killing Us, HR/facilities manager, nonprofit, Phoenix, Arizona

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Let me jump into your first question by noting I was not able to find specific percentages regarding employee turnover in agencies working with domestic or family abuse.  However, the extensive number of articles and research grants on “secondary burnout” and “compassion fatigue” – where the level of emotional engagement and identification with a client’s trauma, rage, and/or helplessness exhausts the caregiver – speaks volumes regarding the immediacy and gravity of the issue.  Also, some jobs are meant to have a shorter shelf life, at least when it comes to front-line work.  Having trained and coached many units in the military, for example, once a soldier goes beyond two or three consecutive “in harm’s way” tours of duty, the potential for some post-traumatic effects significantly increases.  That said, now let’s address question two.  Here are “Five ‘Work-Wellness’ Steps for Strengthening Organizational and Individual Stress Resilience and Personnel Retention”:

 

1.  Maximize the Triple “A”.  Organizations that recognize and support individual knowledge and experience (“Authority”), encourage reasonable decision-making discretion (“Autonomy”), and hold all managers and employees to high and ethical yet attainable performance standards (“Accountability”) not only have more committed people but also more resilient professionals and teams.

 

2. Hold Task and Touch Meetings.  Hold team meetings that are not just task and numbers driven. Carve out ten-fifteen minutes to discuss how the team is doing as a mutual support system.  Are there any relationship conflicts that need to be addressed by the group or need to be addressed in primate with the supervisor?  Sometimes you may want to use this segment to focus on the kinds of people/cases that are the most difficult or volatile, that tend to emotionally drain most professionals.  Also, this is a good time and place for getting input from members on policy, practices, and procedures that impact people daily routine.  This process helps folks feel more in control and less prone to burnout.

 

I also believe there’s more commitment and camaraderie when team members, rather than the supervisor, facilitate this meeting on a rotational basis.  And speaking of rotation, job rotation or job sharing/partnering may inoculate for burnout, including the opportunity for special assignments.  As the Stress Doc says:  Fireproof your life with Variety!

 

3.  Individual Consultation to Professional Counseling.  Schedule regular coaching/consultation sessions, at least one or two/month with a supervisor or an in-house coach, experienced in a particular subject area.  Consider developing a mentor system.  In addition, supervisors and managers need to create time for “as needed” drop-ins.  Another resiliency building idea:  encourage a stress buddy relation; a trusted colleague who will provide the Stress Doc’s TLC:  Tender Loving Criticism and Tough Loving Care!

 

Two of the biggest psycho-social challenges working in the field of abuse:  a) beware rigid, “save the world” idealism and b) respond positively when one’s own personal history and painful memories bleed into a client’s domestic dysfunctional drama.  Front-line employees need ready access to professional counseling, ideally provided by a high quality and confidential organizational Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

 

4.  Pizza Parties and Promotions.  Foster “work-wellness balance.”  If possible, once a month, let all the staff meet informally, in the office or off site, e.g., Friday afternoon at 4pm, for collective social-support, for “R & R” – Recreation & Resilience.  You might even explore if a sister social agency would join you.  It’s good for the mind, heart and soul to share a knowing laugh about life’s absurdities with folks who not only have walked in our shoes, but also can feel our bunions.  Speaking of which, what about a reward system where an employee wins a day at a health spa?  Btw, encourage your staff to take periodic long weekend tune ups or escapades instead of just one big vacation.

 

5.  Resilience Education and Application.  Have periodic workshops on “Compassion Fatigue” and developing “Stress Resilience” focusing on such topics as Sleep-Priorities/Passion-Empathy-Exercise-Diet, i.e., the Stress Doc’s formula for Natural SPEED.

Improving employees sleep patterns, helping them set boundaries with self and others, productively escaping into a passionate hobby, finding a solid and empathic “stress buddy,” getting regular exercise, and eating to fortify one’s mind and mood will go a long way to fostering individual and organizational hardiness.  (Email for the Natural SPEED article.

 

These five strategic “work-wellness” steps will help cultivate more rested and resilient, “psychologically hardy” professionals and organizations; people will learn to pace themselves for a career marathon, or at least for the mid-distance race, not just the burning star-burnout dash.

 

Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is a national keynote and webinar speaker and "Motivational Humorist & Team Communication Catalyst" known for his interactive, inspiring and FUN programs for both government agencies and major corporations.  A training and Critical Incident/Grief Intervention Consultant for the National EAP/Wellness Company, Business Health Services in Baltimore, MD, the Doc also leads “Stress, Team Building and Humor” programs for various branches of the Armed Services.  Mark, a former Stress and Violence Prevention Consultant for the US Postal Service, is the author of Resiliency Rap, Practice Safe Stress, and of The Four Faces of Anger.  See his award-winning, USA Today Online "HotSite" – www.stressdoc.com – called a "workplace resource" by National Public Radio (NPR).  For more info on the Doc's "Practice Safe Stress" programs or to receive his free e-newsletter, email stressdoc@aol.com or call 301-875-2567.