Why "Compassion Fatigue" can Hurt the Whole Team (and how to help)

Written by: Lindsey Kugel

In a recent meeting with a team from a local public health clinic, we were listening to a street doctor share her story—she had run across a man she had treated many times, who was returning to get treatment for substance use. We could hear her pain that he had relapsed after so many interventions, and how she took this, and the work she is doing, so deeply to heart. It felt personal even though she knew it wasn’t. Seeing such cases every day, while watching as some colleagues leave because of staff overwhelm, had left her feeling disillusioned and helpless. 

This can be one of the most challenging things about working in public health or social care—with a such a values-driven desire to support individuals who are unwell or without resources, it can be easy to succumb to “compassion fatigue”, or as we at SIYLI refer to it, empathetic distress. 

Once we are feeling this level of frustration or shut-down, everything can add to the feeling of overwhelm, including our interactions with well-meaning colleagues. Once someone is feeling empathetic distress, they may bring a defeated and stressed mindset, rather than a trusting, open mindset, into team meetings. Thus, for frontline social service workers, it can require more intentionality to create and cultivate supportive team culture. 

So how can we counteract these disengaged mindsets and arrive to our team conversations in a way that cultivates trust and psychological safety? 

Three things you can do for yourself and your team:

1. Practice Compassion: it may sound simple, but actively practicing compassion for both those we serve and those on our team can be huge. This is not a practice that requires us to say anything specific—it can be an internal process where we pay attention to a person fully, remind ourselves of something we have in common, and genuinely wish them well. For example, if I see someone who is suffering from a health issue, I can take 30 seconds and say to myself, “This person is hurting and I see them; this person has a desire to feel comfortable and safe; and I truly wish for them to get the resources they need.” Just this orientation can help us feel more engaged, rather than overwhelmed. 
2. Listen mindfully: When talking with team members who are feeling exhausted, stressed, or offering feedback, it can be easy to feel like we need to help fix or solve a problem. Often, simply deciding to listen fully without commenting, even for just 2 or 3 minutes with our full attention, can help them process what’s happening, feel supported, and re-orient to their heart and what’s important to them. Having deep listening moments like this creates emotional wellness and belonging in teams.
3. Ask questions: Repeat back what you think you heard and ask if that’s accurate—such a simple act takes as little as 30 seconds and can make all the difference in creating trust between you and a colleague. 

And when we practice these steps even once per day, it can lead to both a sense of deeper wellness within us (hello self-care hack!), as well as a greater emotional wellness among our team. For our public health doctor, she started practicing compassion in this way and found that she ended her days with more energy and had more enlivening discussions with her colleagues. We encourage you to give these a try and let us know what happens for you. 

If you are looking for more ways to create a team culture that enables thriving in social service work, please check out our Effective Teaming program here. In this program, we learn how belonging, inclusion, trust and safety can lead us to a way of being we can truly sustain as we do our heart-driven work. Thank you for the work you do!