Compassion Fatigue & Secondary Trauma- How Other’s Trauma Can Affect Us at Work
Our focus has been on how workplace cultures can support how trauma employees experience outside the workplace can be supported and honored.
However, today, we will be focusing on a common way trauma is experienced at work — secondary trauma and compassion fatigue.
Because this type of trauma is often associated with work, the effects can be much more pronounced with the individual’s work and engagement, so understanding is key in creating a trauma informed workplace culture.
Before beginning my journey to learn more about trauma, I was not familiar with the terms secondary or vicarious trauma. So, starting with an understanding of both is important for the discussion of the impacts on the workplace.
Secondary Trauma
Secondary trauma also referred to as vicarious trauma, is the emotional and psychological impact that results from indirectly witnessing or hearing about the traumatic experiences of others. It arises when individuals are exposed to others’ trauma narratives, graphic details, or traumatic events through stories, media, or their job duties.
When an individual empathetically engages with the trauma narratives of others, it can create a deep and lasting change in beliefs, worldview, and/or emotional well-being due to repeated exposure to the trauma experiences of others.
Symptoms of secondary trauma can include intrusive thoughts, nightmares, hypervigilance, emotional distress, and difficulty concentrating- similar to personal experiences of trauma.
Compassion Fatigue
You may be more familiar with the concept of compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue, empathic strain or caregiver burnout, pertains to the physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion that can arise from prolonged exposure to the suffering and distress of others.
It develops when individuals consistently and empathetically engage with people who are experiencing trauma or emotional pain. Compassion fatigue is characterized by symptoms such as emotional exhaustion, reduced empathy, apathy, and a decline in motivation.
Secondary trauma and compassion fatigue can overlap and coexist, and individuals may experience varying degrees of each depending on their specific circumstances and the nature of their work or role. The biggest difference is that secondary trauma focuses on the profound transformation of the inner experience and lasting emotional and psychological effects. Compassion fatigue emphasizes the exhaustion and decline in empathy from continuous engagement.
It’s easy to connect secondary trauma and compassion fatigue to helping professions- social workers, first responders, doctors, nurses, etc. The discourse and urgency around compassion fatigue were amplified by the impacts of the pandemic on many of these professions.
The potential impacts of compassion fatigue and secondary trauma are hard to ignore when we look at recent events. Statistics on healthcare professionals during and following the pandemic. include high rates of burnout, stress, turnover, exiting the profession and PTSD.
The impacts can be significant, including some of these major impacts of secondary trauma and compassion fatigue at work-
Decreased job satisfaction and morale: Employees may become emotionally drained and dissatisfied with their work. This can lead to decreased motivation, lower productivity, and a negative impact on overall workplace morale.
Increased turnover: The emotional toll can contribute to high turnover rates within organizations. When employees feel overwhelmed and unsupported in dealing with the impacts of their work, they may be more likely to seek employment elsewhere or leave the industry altogether.
Reduced empathy and compassion: Secondary trauma and compassion fatigue can both diminish individuals’ ability to empathize and connect with others. Over time, this can affect the quality of care or support provided to clients or individuals, as well as overall interpersonal relationships within the workplace.
Burnout and absenteeism: The cumulative effects can contribute to burnout among employees, leading to increased absenteeism or presenteeism. This can further strain the workload of the remaining staff and impact the overall functioning of the workplace, potentially exacerbating and spreading the issue further among the team.
Secondary trauma and compassion fatigue may be most common or at least most discussed, in first responder, medical, social work and other helping positions, it can show up in any profession.
For example, as a career HR professional, helping others work through medical emergencies or engaging in difficult investigations into complaints could become a scenario where the potential for compassion fatigue or secondary trauma is heightened.
Another example- is a customer service representative repeatedly exposed to the volatile behavior of others. There are, of course, types of roles and industries where this is more common, but it should be considered and understood more as there are larger impacts that others may initially expect.
It is important to note, the increasing numbers of caregivers within the talent pool. With this shift, the challenges of compassion fatigue and secondary trauma from outside the workplace may have impacts on your team and how they show up at work as well.
This may seem like a stand-alone issue to address as it relates to trauma or traumatic experiences at work, understanding and consideration of secondary trauma is key to creating a trauma informed workplace culture.
A key aspect of trauma informed cultures is avoiding retraumatizing survivors and creating any new traumatic experiences. Ignoring the impacts of secondary trauma and compassion fatigue misses both these goals. Individuals with prior experiences of trauma may be triggered by the traumatic experiences of others in addition to the risk of secondary trauma.
Compassion fatigue and secondary trauma can both be supported by a trauma informed workplace and the seven principles- (read more here) all support individuals with these experiences. However, we should call out how we can support these unique experiences within trauma informed cultures and systems.
Acknowledgment and education around secondary trauma and compassion fatigue are vital. Because someone has not personally had a traumatic experience and is perhaps frequently supporting those who have, it may become far too easy to minimize the effects their work and support are having on their mental health and well-being.
Make sure your team understands what secondary trauma and compassion fatigue is and how to spot early signs.
Prevention is paramount. Ensure your team has the support in place to avoid and prevent both compassion fatigue and secondary trauma. This will likely vary in action depending on your industry, culture, and organizational needs. The key concept is varying exposure to traumatic events or retellings. This could look like rotations, enhanced time off following challenges or even availability of compassion fatigue leave. It may also look like resources to talk through feelings and experiences to process — like counseling or mental health services.
Professionals focusing on helping others so often face challenging but rewarding work, but without the right support, they can burn out quickly and face significant personal impacts. Organizations also face the challenge of maintaining a qualified, engaged workforce and without addressing the impacts of trauma- whether direct or vicarious, risk losing out on many talented team members.