Compassion fatigue in housing

As a housing professional I am always looking at ways of keeping up to date with current topics and new ideas. Being a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing is a great way of doing this, particularly as I am part of the NW board where my role is to help make the member offer relevant and of value. In April I chaired a webinar on compassion fatigue in housing, and I would like to share some of the learning from that session with you.

So, what is compassion fatigue? It was certainly a new concept for me, but once we started to explore some of the research it became clear that this is a cumulative experience which affects those who are exposed to the suffering of others.

It was an article in The Guardian by Nick Pettigrew which first sparked my interest in this topic, and I subsequently read his book “Anti Social”. I would definitely recommend it, it’s both funny and sad, and a no-holds barred insight into the work of the antisocial behaviour officer. He felt that he needed to leave his job after a decade of work, to avoid the effects taking a further toll on his physical and mental health.

Professor and CIH president Jo Richardson spoke at the webinar about there being a ‘perfect storm’: austerity, supply of affordable housing, pandemic and global uncertainty.  For some front line housing workers it can seem that they are doing emotionally difficult work – what Jo referred to as “dirty work” - day in, day out. This can result in stress, poor mental health, and burn-out. Jo’s research pointed to the need for preventative strategies to be in place in organisations to ensure that colleagues are supported and that this is seen as a corporate responsibility not just an individual’s issue.

During the pandemic the potential for housing professionals to work in stressful conditions which can have a negative impact on their mental health has increased. They often work in isolated environments, sometimes work with tenants who are in crisis, and whilst working from home they have lost the ability to decompress through humour, support of colleagues, or just a coffee and a chat with a friend. Former CIH president highlighted this issue during her #shinealight campaign to help housing organisations raise their game on mental health.

During the webinar we talked about how stress impacts on us personally, and when things are uncertain or we feel out of control we can use certain strategies to manage our response and feel less overwhelmed. Some of the suggestions included:

• Go for a fifteen-minute walk, get some sunshine and fresh air, listen to music
• Regain emotion control: reframe, refocus, change perception
• Eat a healthy diet, keep hydrated and drink water, exercise, get enough sleep
• Happiness is a choice
• Look out for each other, check in with colleagues,
• Tell someone if you are struggling, either your manager, a friend, family member or health professional
• Self-care is not selfish, we can’t take others’ problems on as our own, we have to look after ourselves first.

Whilst these are things you can do to help manage your own situation, your organisation has a responsibility here too. As your employer, they need to make sure you are safe, and are supported in your work. There are key actions which Boards can take to ensure the culture of the organisation supports a compassionate approach, including leading by example. 

I am proud of the way that Progress Housing, where I am a non-executive director, has been proactive in raising the issues and providing support and resources for colleagues, and getting us talking about mental health.

If you’re interested in finding out more, you can access lots of resources on the Shine a Light website.