For many of us, animal welfare work is so much more than a job—it’s a calling. It’s a deep passion for helping the most vulnerable and a desire to make the world a kinder place for those without a voice. Whether you work full-time or volunteer once a week, your love of animals and commitment to making a difference knows no time clock. And because the demands are never-ending, it’s all too easy to blur the lines between your professional responsibilities and your personal well-being, leaving little room for rest, joy, or even a sense of self beyond the work. You can only burn the candle at both ends, however, until you’re left with nothing but mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion—burnout.
Burnout is one of the two components that make up compassion fatigue, along with secondary traumatic stress. Unlike secondary traumatic stress, which primarily stems from working with suffering or traumatized animals, burnout is more related to chronic stress and your interaction with your work environment. In the context of animal welfare, burnout is likely to result from long hours, overwhelming workloads, toxic workplace cultures, and the constant pressure to do more with fewer resources.
One of the leading experts on burnout, Dr. Christina Maslach, describes burnout as:
Emotional Exhaustion: Feeling overwhelmed or drained, or the reduced ability to care.
Depersonalization: Feeling callous toward or detached from animals, co-workers and colleagues, clients and customers, the public, and even the work itself.
Reduced Personal Accomplishment: Feeling as though your efforts don't matter or deriving less satisfaction from your work.
Additional symptoms of burnout may include:
· Feeling physically and emotionally exhausted all the time
· Feeling impatient, negative, or cynical toward others
· Increased irritability, frustration, or hopelessness
· Decreased motivation
· Losing your sense of empathy or becoming numb to suffering
· Feeling that nothing you do makes a difference
· Isolation from friends, family, and/or colleagues
· Feeling disengaged from your work with animals
· Bodily complaints (muscle tension, headaches, etc.)
Why is Burnout so Prevalent in Animal Welfare?
While any career can lead to burnout, this phenomenon is especially alarming within animal welfare. Studies reveal significant levels of burnout and compassion fatigue among those who work in animal welfare. In fact, research shows that almost half of animal control officers and shelter staff experience burnout and compassion fatigue and nearly 32 percent of veterinarians report high levels of burnout.
So what is contributing to these alarming statistics? Like I mentioned earlier, for many of us, animal welfare work is more than a job. Our love of animals runs deep, so it’s no surprise we have a high emotional investment in the work we do. On top of the relentless demands, those who work in the field often face a multitude of challenges including the dilemma of “too much and not enough.
Too Much: Emotional, physical, and workload stress; long hours and inconsistent schedules, frequent euthanasias or witnessing death; constant emergencies; extensive exposure to suffering and trauma; overwhelming pressure, hostility, or apathy from clients or the community; substantial student debt; moral dilemmas; legal and bureaucracy challenges; and infighting among different groups or organizations are some examples of “too much.”
Not Enough: Limited time and energy; lack of funding, space, and other resources; inadequate staff, volunteers, or foster homes; low pay; insufficient benefits such as mental health services; lack of support, appreciation, or recognition; minimal training or education opportunities; and limited autonomy are some examples of “not enough.”
The imbalance between never-ending demands and inadequate resources not only fuels the flames of compassion fatigue but can also ignite full-blow burnout.
The Consequences of Burnout of Individuals and Organizations
Burnout among staff and volunteers in the animal welfare field can have a significant impact on an entire organization. Not surprisingly, those at the peak of mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion are more prone to developing physical or mental health problems and may struggle to maintain the motivation, focus, and energy needed to provide the highest standard of care. This not only affects the well-being of the animals but also manifests in reduced customer service quality and reflects poorly on the organization’s reputation.
A burned out staff is typically a demoralized staff, which can contribute to increased employee conflict and toxic workplace culture, decreased productivity, and higher turnover rates—further corroding the well-being of the remaining staff members who now have to do even more with even less. And so the burnout cycle continues.
Since burnout has more to do with one’s interaction with their environment, addressing this growing problem within animal welfare is the responsibility of the both the individual and the organization. Let’s first look at some of the ways individuals can help to manage burnout:
· Know the warning signs. The more aware you are of how you are engaging with your environment—either positively or negatively—the better equipped you’ll be to take steps to prevent, reduce, or manage burnout. Knowing the symptoms can also help you to recognize burnout in your staff, volunteers, or co-workers.
· Seek support; give support. If you’re noticing burnout creeping in, consider reaching out to a non-judgmental friend, family member, colleague, peer support group, coach, or mental health professional. If someone else is struggling, offer to be that support or help them find the appropriate resources.
· Create healthy boundaries. The only way to achieve that elusive “work/life balance” is to know when to say no and recognize your limits. Set aside time to focus on other areas of your life, including relationships, personal hobbies and interests, and opportunities for rest and relaxation. Make it a habit to disconnect from work—checking emails, text messages, and social media when not on the clock.
· Engage in regular self-care. Not even our cars can run on empty, so be sure to recharge your battery or refill your tank with self-care activities such as getting exercise, taking time off, eating a healthy diet, and getting adequate sleep.
· Practice stress management. It’s hard to be effective at any type of caregiving when your nervous system is fried to a crisp. Stress management and relaxation skills are crucial in the management of not only burnout, but also overall physical, emotional, and mental health. Try traditional or guided meditation, deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, and other techniques designed to help with self-regulation. You can find several videos to assist you in my virtual calming room here.
· Focus on what you can control. While I’ve never been particularly religious, the serenity prayer (a core message of Alcoholics Anonymous) has proven helpful to me in my work with animals. It states, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Although not easy, try to let go of the things that are out of your control. Focusing on, or prioritizing the parts of your work that you do have some control over can help decrease feelings of hopelessness and increase a sense of empowerment.
How Organizations can Help
The average employee turnover rate across all work sectors in the US is around 19 percent. And while studies reveal similar rates in veterinarians and animal control officers, the average turnover rate for vet techs is about 23 percent, and for shelter employees it is an alarming 30 to 40 percent. While we cannot solely blame burnout, especially given that it’s only half the compassion fatigue equation, these statistics do highlight the urgent need for organizational change. Just as it’s important for individuals to recognize the early stages of burnout, it’s also the responsibility of employers to know the warning signs on an organizational level:
· High employee or volunteer turnover
· Low employee or volunteer engagement, morale, motivation, commitment, etc.
· Decreased productivity
· Increased absenteeism
· High conflict and poor communication among employees, volunteers, and/or management
· Toxic workplace culture (bullying or harassment; gossip; poor leadership; high stress; unfair treatment; lack of resources, training, or support; etc.)
· Increased negative attitudes among employees or volunteers, including apathy or cynicism
· Higher rates of on-the-job accidents
· Difficulty in attracting new employees or volunteers
· Organization has a bad reputation in the community
So now let’s explore some of the interventions and strategies employers can adopt in order to create a healthier workplace culture.
· Provide proper training, professional development opportunities, and mental health resources.
· Encourage staff and volunteers to take breaks and time off without guilt.
· Offer support in form of peer groups, therapy, coaching, regular check-ins, or debriefing sessions.
· Invest in trainings that bring awareness to topics such as compassion fatigue, burnout, stress management, secondary traumatic stress, and resilience building.
· Promote a healthy work/life balance by encouraging and modeling self-care and boundaries (e.g., taking lunch breaks, disconnecting from work during personal time, etc.)
· Build a positive workplace culture where staff and volunteers feel valued, appreciated, respected, and safe. Do not engage in or tolerate unfair/unequal treatment, bullying, harassment, favoritism, gossip, blaming, or other forms of drama among team members. We’re not in junior high anymore.
· Provide regular feedback, encouragement, and recognition.
· Allow for some autonomy. When possible, allow employees to have input or make suggestions for improvement.
· Encourage an open and supportive culture where employees feel safe to express their emotions and share their experiences without feeling judged.
· Recognize and celebrate achievements, big and small. This boosts morale and reminds everyone that their efforts are making a difference.
· Commit to wellness in the workplace. Check out this article for a variety of ideas.
· Lead by example. Staff have a difficult time, or feel guilty about prioritizing their own well-being when their supervisor is burned out, has poor boundaries, neglects their own self-care, never takes breaks, etc. Be sure to model the behaviors that lead to sustainability in this field instead of burnout.
Addressing burnout in animal welfare is crucial not just for the well-being of organizations and those that work for them, but also for the animals who depend on them. While there are a myriad of forces outside the control of both individuals and their employers, there are strategies we can all engage in to mitigate at least some of the stress inherent in the work. Despite the limited resources, high workloads, hostile public, slow pace of systemic change, and other external factors, by working with—not against—each other and implementing both personal and organizational strategies, we can create a more supportive and sustainable environment for all—humans and animals alike.
-By Jennifer Blough
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