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Managing Staff
Stress and Animal Protection Work
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For many people, the concept of stress has become synonymous with animal protection work. However, stress can actually be a good thing. The trick for managers is to aim for an optimal level of stress in the work environment, harnessing the energy that stress creates in order to steer it in positive directions. This article, which explores the causes and symptoms of stress and burnout, is the first in a three part series. The other two articles focus on:
In order to prepare ourselves to successfully cope with stress and prevent burnout, it's important to understand exactly what these two conditions are and how they are related. It's also useful to identify indicators of stress and common coping behaviors, both positive and negative. What is Stress? What is Stress?Stress is a normal part of everyday life. It is simply the strain or tension (physical or mental) that results from an outside pressure or demand. Examples: The phone rings (outside demand) … and we must decide (mental stress) whether or not to answer it. A dog pulls on his lead (outside pressure), and we stand perfectly still (physical stress) until he stops pulling, then walk forward again. Every change—small or large—creates stress. Indeed, the terms change and stress are sometimes used interchangeably. Positive changes—such as an animal going to a great home or 250 people signing up for your Walk for Animals—cause stress just as much as negative changes. Individuals have variable responses to different stressors (demands and pressures):
The important thing is to understand and identify exactly what kinds of stressors affect you, and how much stress equals your optimal stress level (the point at which stress is energizing and motivating for you). Additionally, stressors can affect the same people differently depending on the time or situation. So: Josh may be very comfortable on the adoption counter in the morning (when he is refreshed and energetic), but completely overwhelmed by the same work later in the afternoon (when he is tired and distracted by thoughts of picking his kids up from school and helping with their homework). Likewise, Sara may normally thrive in a loud, constantly changing and busy shelter environment, but visiting a similarly loud and busy teen center may feel overwhelming to her. None of these preferences is "right" or "wrong". What we find stressful is largely related to our personality or, if you will, our temperament. Just as we understand that a pit bull thrives on a lot of activity and mental stimulation and an old tiger kitty blossoms in sunshine and a cozy lap, so we can learn to understand the stressors, stress levels, and environments for ourselves and our staffs to be successful. Given that animal shelters tend to be noisy, fast paced, constantly changing environments, at first glance it might seem logical to load up our organizations with people who thrive on constant change (and stress). However, an entire staff of these folks would be extremely challenging to manage (think: kennel full of border collies) and would ensure only that you're good at one thing: living with chaos. Most organizations recognize that in order to effect real change for animals, they have to move beyond chaos—which argues for having a balance of temperaments among your staff, and achieving an optimal stress level for the group. What is Burnout?Burnout is a syndrome with physical, mental, and emotional attributes. It is common to hear people say, "I'm burned out on this or that." In fact, burnout is generally understood to be confined to people working in helping professions—particularly those professions with frequent emotionally charged situations. Burnout is a progressive condition, advancing through eight stages of severity. Like other health problems, burnout is easier to address in the early stages; with the ideal approach being one of prevention. Researchers concur that there are three dimensions to burnout:
When Does Stress Cause Burnout?The stress that is most likely to lead to burnout is the stress of anxiety (fear or worry combined with uncertainty). In the work situation, anxiety results from:
This last—and most significant—source of anxiety as related to burnout is of particular concern in animal protection because so many of our staff and volunteer positions require skills in multiple areas: animal health, care, behavior, handling and training, communication, investigation, teaching, project management, and so on. How Do You Know If You're "Stressing Out?"Below are some indicators that stress is taking a negative toll on your well-being. In addition, we've listed common responses to stress, including coping behaviors that can make stress worse and those that can reduce it. Indicators of Stress
Coping Behaviors that Compound Stress and Accelerate Burnout
Coping Behaviors that Reduce Stress
What Can Managers Do to Reduce Stress and Prevent Burnout?Until recently, efforts to prevent burnout have been largely aimed at teaching individuals how to improve their self esteem and deal with their stress. This approach capitalizes on our natural human tendency to seek control. Unfortunately, because stress and change are constant—and therefore by their very nature beyond control—this individual approach to stress management is only minimally successful in preventing burnout. Effectively managing stress and preventing burnout requires a holistic approach whereby in addition to individual work, the organization institutes a comprehensive system of orientation, training, supervision, and ongoing support. Managers can adopt a three step strategy for achieving an optimal stress level in their organizations:
Congratulations! By reading this article you have begun to address Step 1. Steps 2 and 3 are covered in detail in these articles: ReferencesAndre Bussing & Jurgen Glaser, Four stage process model of the core factors of burnout, Work & Stress Journal, 2000, vol 14, no 4, 329-346. R.J. Taormina & C.M. Law, Approaches to preventing burnout: the effects of personal stress management and organizational socialization, Journal of Nursing Management, 2000, 8, 89-99. Bergmann, Lawrence H., Critical Incident Stress Syndrome, Search & Rescue Society of British Columbia, www.sarbc.org, ciss1-6. Robert T. Golembiewski & Robert T. Aldinger, Burnout and self esteem, Organization Development Journal, 1994, vol 12, no 3, 41-48. Yvonne Rafferty, Ronald Friend, & Paul Landsbergis, The association between job skill discretion, decision authority and burnout, Work & Stress Journal, 2001, vol 15, no 1, 73-85. Bert Troughton, MSW, is ASPCA Vice President of Pro Learning, Community Outreach. Photo Credit: PAWS kittens © Maggie Swanson
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