Tag Archives: organizational culture in aid
Breaking News! Aid Workers Burnout!
I just landed in the beautiful and crazy land of Israel and Palestine, home of hundreds of NGOs and IGOs, and hot from the press a longitudinal study confirms that aid workers are affected by high levels of psychological distress, depression, anxiety, … Continue reading
On compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma & burnout
Recently, I participated in an amazing training to become a domestic violence advocate for immigrant women in the D.C. area. One area which we focused on was burnout, compassion fatigue, and self-care. Continue reading
Burnout: The Exhaustion Funnel
Many frontline professionals and volunteers burnout without knowing it. There’s an urge to keep going, and a sense that our personal well-being and good mental health are not worth looking after. Let me tell you why this is plain wrong and short-sighted. Continue reading
PTSD is not the problem. Burnout is.
I remain convinced that if we want to change how aid works, we need to change ourselves. Psychological awareness becomes a tool for social and political awareness, but before we get there we need to find ways to manage stress and avoid getting to a place of burnout. Continue reading
Are you a boiled frog? Burnout and Awareness
The Story of the Boiled Frog and some thoughts on burnout
During a recent visit in Italy for some rest to prevent my own burnout, a good friend gave me a little book called ‘Invaluable Lessons from a Frog: Seven Life-Enhancing Metaphors’ by Oliver Clerc. I find the metaphor of the boiled frog contained in the book particularly fitting when it comes to giving us a vivid picture of how burnout wears people down.
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On Supporting Staff – My Interview with People in Aid
Staff care is way more than just counselling or stress management. Here’s my take. Interview with Alessandra Pigni by People In Aid, July 2012. Continue reading
From humanitarian to ‘humane’
In May I attended the HHR People in Aid Conference in Amsterdam. I followed with much interest the intervention by the ex global editor at Reuters, Michael Lawrence. His story highlighted the involvement of Reuters’ senior management in bringing about a change in the organisational culture in relation to staff care. Continue reading