scholarly journals Social Workers in Animal Shelters: A Strategy Toward Reducing Occupational Stress Among Animal Shelter Workers

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Hoy-Gerlach ◽  
Mamta Ojha ◽  
Phil Arkow
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Stress ◽  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Secondary Trauma ◽  
Occupational Stressors ◽  
Animal Shelter ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Animal Shelters ◽  
Occupational Risks ◽  
Shelter Workers ◽  
Burn Out

Animal shelter workers (ASWs) are at disproportionate risk of moral injury, secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, and burn-out. While there is an emerging body of literature developing on understanding the nuances of these experiences for ASWs, little work has been done on developing strategies to ameliorate occupational stressors and the negative effects of such for ASWs. Within this paper, occupational risks and protective factors for ASWs are summarized, and the emergence of social work within animal shelter settings as one strategy for helping to ameliorate the occupational stress experienced by ASWs is delineated.

Compassion Fatigue and Resiliency Factors in Animal Shelter Workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 633-650
Author(s):  
Alexis L. Levitt ◽  
Lindsay B. Gezinski
Keyword(s):  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Animal Shelter ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Shelter Workers ◽  
Intrinsic Motivations ◽  
Making A Difference ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Resiliency Factors ◽  
Right Reason

Abstract This phenomenological study explored compassion fatigue and resiliency factors in animal shelter workers. Compassion fatigue is a phenomenon in which individuals become traumatized through the process of helping others. The sample included seven current and former animal shelter workers. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews to examine general experiences with animal shelter work as well as compassion fatigue. The researchers read the transcripts multiple times and coded the data into themes and sub-themes. Four major themes and five sub-themes emerged from the data. These themes were 1) Intrinsic Motivations including (a) Right reason, (b) Affinity with animals and (c) Attachment to animals; 2) Purpose, including (a) Making a difference and (b) Focusing on the positive; 3) Social supports; and 4) Coping Strategies. The study has important practical implications, including the potential benefits of screening job applicants for intrinsic motivations and fostering positive relationships between coworkers and the animals they work with.

The Experiences of Domestic Violence Shelter Workers and Their Perceptions of Shelter Services: A Preliminary Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-561
Author(s):  
Chris Brown ◽  
Christine Serpe ◽  
Sara Brammer
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Secondary Trauma ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Domestic Violence Shelter ◽  
Shelter Workers ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Shelter Services

With domestic violence shelters faced with the persistent and arduous challenge of intimate partner violence, using an online survey, we explored the experiences of 98 shelter workers, including their perceptions of shelter services. Findings revealed that a majority of respondents (94%) indicated that through their work, they have had a positive influence on shelter residents. Moreover, 68% agreed that shelters are successful with providing services that will aid women in becoming self-sufficient, and 94% would like to see shelters have a greater impact on helping women find the pathway to economic independence. Thirty-six and 39% of participants, respectively, endorsed items about compassion fatigue and secondary trauma, and slightly more than half (51%) were frustrated by their work. Challenges in the provision of services included lack of funding, housing, and mental health and communal living issues. Incorporation of wellness efforts and self-care practices are encouraged in order for shelter workers to reduce susceptibility to compassion fatigue and secondary trauma.

scholarly journals Compassion fatigue of funeral directors during and after the first wave of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roel Van Overmeire ◽  
Rose-Lima Van Keer ◽  
Marie Cocquyt ◽  
Johan Bilsen
Keyword(s):  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Secondary Trauma ◽  
Compassion Satisfaction ◽  
Funeral Directors ◽  
Quality Of Life Scale ◽  
Life Scale ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Background Compassion fatigue has not been studied among funeral directors. Yet, funeral directors have been exposed to the same risks for compassion fatigue as other caregivers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods An online survey was spread two times to 287 employees of funeral home DELA, in Belgium. Once during the height of the first wave of COVID-19 in Belgium, and a second time at the end of the first wave. The professional quality of life-scale 5 (PROQOL-5) was used to measure compassion fatigue, which includes burnout, compassion satisfaction and secondary trauma. Non-parametric tests were performed. Results In total, 104 participants answered the first survey, and 107 the second. Burnout increases from survey 1 to survey 2 (P < 0.001), while compassion satisfaction (P = 0.011) and secondary trauma decrease (P < 0.001). In survey 1, only age (P = 0.007) and gender (P = 0.040) were found to be significantly associated with secondary trauma. In survey 2, having more work experience is associated with having a higher burnout (P = 0.008) and secondary trauma (P = 0.001) score. Neither for burnout (P < 0.001), nor for secondary trauma (P < 0.001) are there any respondents in the highest category. Conclusions Although overall funeral directors do not have acute problems with compassion fatigue, burnout scores increase significantly after the first wave.

Future proofing child protection social work

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 202-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Shemmings
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Secondary Trauma ◽  
Working Alliances ◽  
Helping Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Skills ◽  
Lasting Change

Purpose How might the profession of child protection social work be “future proofed”, i.e. remain intact and of value beyond its present existence? The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This is a discussion/“think piece” paper, in which the author argues that foregrounding the art and science of helping relationships is a way forward. Recognising and promoting the centrality of helping relationships is the direction in which the author believes (or is it hopes?) social work should head, because “more of the same” is not, in the author’s view, possible to sustain for much longer. Treading the well-worn but pot-holed path of box-ticking, endless risk assessment and perfunctory statutory visiting is likely to lead to continuing problems retaining social workers and, for those who do stay, increased burnout, compassion fatigue and secondary trauma, each of which interrupts or delays the development of working alliances with family members. Findings Growing reliance on thresholds and checklists to assess risk has served to increase referrals. As a result, social workers spend much of their time on triaging and filtering rather than working with the children and families that most need help and protection. Further, it is not what is in the practitioner’s toolkit that matters: rather, it is a defined set of personal skills and qualities that tips the balance to achieve lasting change. Thus, in order to “future proof” social work, we would do well to deepen our understanding of how helping relationships can lead to lasting change. Supporting social workers in this work is not just the responsibility of individual practitioners and their professional bodies, action also needs to be taken at governmental and managerial levels. Originality/value This is a discussion/“think piece”.

scholarly journals Survey on Pressure Situation of Professional Women and Causes Analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Xu Tingting ◽  
Zuo Yuxiu ◽  
Ma Cunhong
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Stress ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Professional Women ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Work Efficiency ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Status ◽  
Depth Study

<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 宋体; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;" lang="EN-US">With the development of society and the rise of women's status, professional women become non-ignorable in the workplace. The development of professional women also results in all kinds of pressure. Through the survey of the status of professional women's occupational pressure, this paper aims to analyze the differences of the total pressure in age, disposition, education, marital status, type of work and demographics, so as to explore the main factors; besides, this paper will also study the coping situation and discuss the relationship between the way of release and occupational pressure. Hope to conduct a more in-depth study of professional women's stress from wider angles in all around, providing a scientific basis for most professional women to adjust the physical and mental state, relieve stress, avoid the negative effects of burnout and improve work efficiency. This research has adopted cluster sampling method, surveyed by way of questionnaire, and discussed the status and influencing factors of women's occupational stress. The investigation on the influencing factors and countermeasures of female occupational stress could provide a more effective way of pressure relief for the majority of women, improve their work efficiency and better serve society! Therefore, it becomes an important topic to study the stress of professional women.</span>

scholarly journals Emerging infectious outbreak inhibits pain empathy mediated prosocial behaviour

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siqi Cao ◽  
Yanyan Qi ◽  
Qi Huang ◽  
Yuanchen Wang ◽  
Xinchen Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Prosocial Behaviour ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Personal Traits ◽  
Health Events ◽  
Trait Empathy ◽  
The Relationship

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, people may experience anxiety, empathy, and prosocial willingness. However, the relationship between emotions, empathy, and prosocial behaviour is unknown. It is said that empathy is affected by moods and influences pro-sociality. Thus, how does an emergency change people’s empathy and prosocial willingness? We conducted a study with 1,190 participants before (N=520) and after (N=570) the coronavirus outbreak. We found that prosocial willingness decreased post-outbreak, maybe by the decreased empathy levels, in accordance with compassion fatigue theory. Trait empathy could affect prosocial willingness indirectly through the empathy level. News discriminability and distance from the outbreak epicentre played a role in the trait empathy change. Given how emergency health events influence emotion and the effects of personal traits on prosocial willingness, social media users and providers should understand the negative effects of information over-exposure on mental health during the outbreak.

scholarly journals Impact of Job Resources and Job Demands on Burnout among Physical Therapy Providers

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 12521
Author(s):  
Rupal M. Patel ◽  
John Bartholomew
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Trauma ◽  
Physical Therapists ◽  
Job Demands ◽  
Self Determination Theory ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Basic Psychological Needs ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Job Resources ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Workplace Interventions

Job burnout is a threat for physical therapists. Little research has been conducted to identify possible protective factors against burnout in this population. Accordingly, we utilized the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and self-determination theory to guide our examination of basic psychological needs as factors to predict burnout in physical therapists. One hundred and two licensed physical therapists completed surveys. Higher levels of autonomy, competence and relatedness predicted burnout, even after accounting for job demands. Job resources, such as the basic psychological needs outlined by the self-determination theory, along with perceived respect, buffer the negative effects of secondary trauma on burnout. The job resource of perceived respect also buffers the negative effects of the physical demands of the job on burnout. These findings suggest that while job demands can be difficult to change, increasing the fulfillment of job resources can help ameliorate burnout in physical therapists. The present findings highlight the need for workplace interventions which cultivate the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness to address burnout among physical therapists.

Loving Them to Death: Blame-Displacing Strategies of Animal Shelter Workers and Surrenderers

1999 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie S. Frommer ◽  
Arnold Arluke
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategy ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Animal Shelter ◽  
Ethnographic Approach ◽  
Shelter Workers

AbstractThis article examines how shelter workers and individuals who surrender their companion animals to shelters manage guilt about killing previously valued animals. Researchers used an ethnographic approach that entailed open-ended interviews and directobservations of workers and surrenderers in a major, metropolitan shelter. Both workers and surrenderers used blame displacement as a mechanism for dealing with their guilt over euthanasia or its possibility. Understanding this coping strategy provides insights into how society continues to relinquish animal companions-despite the animals' chances of death-as well as how shelter workers cope with killing the animals they aim to protect.

Can using a servant-leadership model of supervision mitigate against burnout and secondary trauma in the health and social care sector?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daryl Mahon
Keyword(s):  
Servant Leadership ◽  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Secondary Trauma ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Core Characteristics

Purpose This paper aims to set out a model of servant leadership that can be infused within a supervisory setting to mitigate employee burnout and negative stressful experiences in the health and social care sector. Design/methodology/approach A brief targeted review of the literature was undertaken to assess the prevalence of burnout in the health and social care sectors. The supervision literature was also explored. The outcomes associated with servant leadership were also distilled, focusing on employee well-being. Findings Research suggests that burnout and related concepts such as secondary trauma and compassion fatigue impact these professions disproportionately. At the same time, servant leadership is suggested to mitigate some of these factors. The author presents a conceptual model of servant leadership supervision consisting of an ideographic model of servant leadership, Servant Leadership Scale-28 (SLS-28), using the most recent meta-analysis defining this construct, and previously validated measures in the extant literature to inform its design. A Servant Leadership Supervision Scale (SLSS) is also presented aligning its use to several of the core characteristics of servant leadership practice. Research limitations/implications In doing so, the author proposes that this approach will help reduce burnout of health and social care sector employees. Limitations are considered in light of the conceptual paper and no primary data. Practical implications A model of servant leadership supervision that can be infused into health and social care supervision. Originality/value This is the first model of servant leadership supervision articulated for the health and social care sector.

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