Breakthrough Personal & Professional Development Inc. CEO Bonita Eby of Kitchener, Ontario, was interviewed on CHCH Morning Live. This article is based on that interview.
Click the image to watch the live television interview.
Host: We hear a lot about burnout. What about something called compassion fatigue? Burnout Prevention Strategist and owner of Breakthrough Personal & Professional Development, Bonita Eby, joins us now with more.
What is the definition of compassion fatigue?
Host: Let's start out with what compassion fatigue is.
Bonita: Compassion fatigue is the stress resulting from exposure to suffering people. It's caused by vicarious trauma. In other words, it's witnessing or listening to other people's difficult stories or painful experiences. It’s important to note that exposure is cumulative.
Who does compassion fatigue impact?
Host: I can imagine this is something you deal with, specifically within corporate or professional roles. I can also imagine it is something that caregivers get. Are we talking about healthcare workers and social workers?
Bonita: You are completely right. We're seeing it a lot in healthcare workers, anyone from nurses and doctors to intake workers. We also see compassion fatigue and moral injury in emergency response workers, from paramedics to forensics, and we also see it within purpose-driven nonprofits.
How has compassion fatigue emerged in recent years?
Host: Is compassion fatigue new, or is it just something that people are now recognizing based on how they are feeling and acting?
Bonita: Burnout, compassion fatigue and moral injury have existed for a long time, though it's just recently that the public is beginning to understand what it means. Even with burnout pre-pandemic, it wasn’t talked about or largely understood. Now that we’re in what’s called a post-pandemic world, the word burnout is regularly overused, attributing it to too many things. Burnout is evidence-based and a recognized term with a specific meaning.
Similarly, compassion fatigue has become public knowledge. People in helping professions have experienced an increased prevalence of compassion fatigue, moral injury and burnout throughout the pandemic, and it continues post-pandemic.
Host: And because it's happening so much, there's simply no time to stop and just take a breather at work?
What is moral injury & how does it happen?
Bonita: Well, that's just it. One of the main issues is a lack of resources. People in healthcare, emergency response and nonprofits want to help, but there is an incredible lack of resources in which to provide the help that people need.
This is where moral injury comes in. Helping professionals want to help those they serve, but they are often powerless to do so due to a lack of funding or long waiting lists. They are highly trained professionals, and yet they feel like their hands are tied.
What can we do to prevent & support those experiencing compassion fatigue?
Host: I can imagine what frontline workers are seeing on a day-to-day basis. What's being done to stop the issue that's causing all of this?
Bonita: We're always going to have suffering people. But what we need to do is care for the people caring for the suffering people. It means putting strategies and resources in place.
It’s important for organizations to look at their company culture, their systems and processes for providing care. Leaders must create psychologically safe environments for employees to talk about compassion fatigue, burnout, and moral injury and seek support.
A great place for organizations to start is by using the free Burnout Assessment on my website. Leaders and employees can download and use it to evaluate employee burnout risk and put strategies in place to mitigate burnout, compassion fatigue and moral injury. The Burnout Assessment is used globally by organizations to care for their people and culture.
Signs of compassion fatigue
Host: What are some of the signs of compassion fatigue?
Bonita: One of the things we're seeing regularly is the quiet quitting phenomenon. When people are experiencing compassion fatigue, they become fatigued. They're exhausted, not just physical exhaustion but also mental and emotional exhaustion.
When highly skilled professionals desire to help others but are physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted, they often begin to self-protect. They put up a metaphorical wall between themselves and those they serve because they simply can’t give of themselves as much as they have in the past.
Sometimes. as their capacity decreases, they have less tolerance for others. Even kind, loving people begin snapping at others, almost like their personalities have changed. Suddenly they are acting poorly, not caring, or causing conflict within their team.
Host: And we need those people, and we need them to be highly functioning.
Bonita: That's right, and they want to be. I've never met someone in one of the helping professions who doesn't want to be highly functioning. They're giving it their all. They're in their profession because they want to make a difference in this world.
To learn more about the symptoms of burnout, read The Symptoms of Burnout.
Download your free Burnout Assessment.
About the author
Bonita Eby is a Burnout Prevention and Organizational Culture Consultant, Executive Coach, and owner of Breakthrough Personal & Professional Development Inc., specializing in burnout prevention and wellness for organizations. Bonita is on a mission to end burnout. Connect with us about bringing our workshops to your organization.