A Global-Watch scientific interpretation by
Laurie Nadeau, PhD student in psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
What is compassion fatigue? Can it affect human resources professionals?
Compassion fatigue is a painful syndrome that can occur in people working in a caring role with suffering colleagues, customers, or patients. Confronted daily with the distress of others, these people can develop emotional wear and tear, accompanied by a loss of vitality and a sense of vocation in their work.
Although human resources (HR) professionals and managers are not directly exposed to people in severe distress, as paramedics or psychologists may be, they can nevertheless suffer from compassion fatigue. Indeed, they support employees in difficulty and are regularly exposed to stories of stress, anger, anxiety, or heartbreaking conflicts within their team. Not only do they have to accompany their colleagues in crisis, they also have to maintain a delicate balance between their well-being and organizational demands.
This article will highlight how HR specialists can anticipate these reactions, better understand and manage their own symptoms, as well as more effectively identify symptoms in their colleagues to support their team.
What do we mean by Compassion fatigue?
(Joinson, 1992; Figley, 1995; Stamm, 2010)
DEfinition |
EVENTS |
Consequences |
|---|---|---|
|
Emotional exhaustion that can affect caregivers when they are exposed to the suffering and distress of others. Affects ability and interest in helping.
|
Emotional:
Physiological:
Interpersonal:
|
Affects ability to help:
Affects work performance |
How do you distinguish between compassion fatigue and burnout?
As a little-known syndrome, compassion fatigue can be confused with burnout, even though they have distinct causes and manifestations.
compassionFatigue |
Burnout(Maslach AND Leiter, 1997) |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Causes |
Specific to professionals in caregiver positions (daily exposure to distress) | Can occur in any type of occupation where working conditions are stressful (excessive workload, lack of support and recognition) |
|
Evolution |
Faster (increased, intense exposure to suffering) | More gradual (chronic stress in the workplace) |
|
Events |
Specific to relationships, affects capacity for empathy, challenges sense of vocation at work, interpersonal isolation | Loss of interest and motivation, feelings of inefficiency and incompetence |
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