An exploratory study on the factors affecting the mental health and well‐being of frontline workers in homeless services

Abstract

Frontline workers in homeless services work in a high-intensity, emotionally consuming environment, with frequent exposure to traumatic material with potentially significant consequences for their own mental health. This, in turn, may have a negative impact on the quality of care provided to homeless service users. Prevention of this trajectory may be achieved through psychologically informed environments for staff.This study aimed to explore factors that may influence the development of burnout, secondary traumatic stress (STS), depression, anxiety and stress in this population.Elevated levels of burnout and STS were predicted, as was an association between the predictor variables of professional experience, educational background, continuing professional development, access to organisational support structures and the outcome measures of compassion satisfaction, burnout, STS, depression, anxiety and stress. An online cross-sectional survey design using the Professional Quality of Life Scale (Version V) and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 and scales designed for this study capturing occupational variables were distributed via email and national networks to a wide range of services across Scotland and the rest of the UK.Over 4 months in 2017, 112 frontline homelessness workers in health, social care and third sector organisations completed the survey. Results did not indicate elevated levels of burnout or STS, though depression and stress were found to be significantly elevated compared to population norms and were associated with burnout, compassion satisfaction and secondary traumatic stress. High levels of various types of supervision support and CPD were identified. There was no association between these and burnout or stress. We highlight the elevated levels of stress and depression and make a research recommendation to parse types of supervision to assess for optimal effectiveness and efficiency in ensuring that staff working in high-stress homelessness settings receive optimal support to deliver high quality services. K E Y W O R D Sdepression, frontline workers, homelessness; psychologically informed environments, secondary trauma, stress

“This Isn’t Just about Things, It’s about People and Their Future”: A Qualitative Analysis of the Working Conditions and Strains of Social Workers in Refugee and Homeless Aid

“…Behavioural health promotion activities would be a useful addition to the aforementioned measures. To support workers in dealing with their emotional demands, difficult cases and aggressive clients, supervision offers should be provided in all institutions in the form of individual or group supervision provided by external supervisors or peers [43,47]. Needs-based training, e.g., in the form of de-escalation training, may also provide key assistance.…”

Analyzing the Job Demands-Control-Support Model in Work-Life Balance: A Study among Nurses in the European Context

“…Health is one of the fundamental pillars of a welfare society. The World Health Organization estimates that the health care sector workforce in 2013 included 20.7 million nurses out of a total of 43.5 million health workers worldwide [51,52]. The well-being of workers is essential for the health of society [49].…”

“…The sector is characterized by high job demands, both physical and psychological. The situation with respect the physical demands of nurse workers reflects the need to work with limited resources, both in terms of personnel and equipment [56], which causes a level of emotional strain that approaches exhaustion [52,53]. The nursing sector is the sector with the highest rate of nonfatal occupational diseases and injuries, which causes an increase in sick leave [57].…”

Factors Associated with Providers’ Work Engagement and Burnout in Homeless Services: A Cross‐national Study

“…Considering the complexity of their tasks, it is fundamental to identify the factors that protect social service providers working in homeless services from developing burnout symptoms and factors that promote a positive work experience. However, there are few studies that investigate the factors associated with providers' well-being in the field of homelessness, and the small amount of evidence in this area shows inconsistent associations between practitioner and organizational variables and providers' well-being (Lemieux-Cumberlege & Taylor, 2019). Moreover, to our knowledge, no studies have adopted a cross-national approach in analyzing social service providers' work experience.…”

“…Financial crises, anti‐begging laws, and the resulting negative public perception of marginalized people also politicize the role of providers working in homeless services. This role often requires collaboration with the local or national government administration, for example, involvement in advocacy activities, and additional demands on professional competencies and knowledge (Lemieux‐Cumberlege & Taylor, 2019).…”