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Compassion fatigue is characterized by emotional exhaustion and a reduced ability to empathize. The symptoms of compassion fatigue include despair, anxiety, guilt, and physical symptoms such as headaches, insomnia, muscle tension, etc.
Compassion fatigue can significantly impact a workplace, especially for employees with past traumatic experiences or suffering. As a result, they become less motivated, less productive, and less decisive in work-related issues.
Key Takeaways
- Compassion fatigue has two halves. Secondary traumatic stress (you absorb someone else's trauma just by listening) plus burnout (workload, home balance, social conflict). Most employees — and leaders — only name the second half.
- Moral injury is a different wound. It is the betrayal of what is right by a leader in a high-stakes situation. It erodes sense of self, faith, and meaning at work — and quietly drives retention loss that no pay rise can fix.
- The workforce is still grieving. COVID interrupted rituals, silenced goodbyes, and left prolonged grief in its wake. Many employees meet Monday carrying losses the employer never sees.
- Replace the exit interview with a "stay interview." By the time someone is leaving, it is too late. Meaningful conversations with still-present employees uncover moral injury while it can still be repaired.
- Self-compassion for leaders is not optional. Managers are suffering from the same conditions they're trying to treat in their teams. Being kind to yourself is what keeps you capable of being kind to others.
- One suicide in a team touches everyone. Barbara lost her father to suicide the week she gave birth to triplets — her argument is direct: wellness programmes, suicide-prevention training, and destigmatised mental health conversations are leadership responsibilities, not HR benefits.
In Barbara's Words
On what employees are actually experiencing
Employees are not the same as before the pandemic. They are grieving. They may experience prolonged grief disorder, which will impact their job.
Just by listening to them and being present for them, you experience the same symptoms — the secondary trauma — and your behaviour changes, even though you didn't experience what they did.
On moral injury
Moral injury is when an employee commits, witnesses, or fails to prevent something that goes against their moral values. There's a leadership failure — a betrayal of what's right in a high-stakes situation.
Their sense of self suffers. They lose purpose in work. They can't make meaning out of their role. That will impact retention.
On what leaders can do
Don't wait for an exit interview. Create a meaningful stay interview.
If an employee experienced a loss, don't just say it in passing — "I'm sorry about the loss of your mum" — and move on. Take them into your office. Sit with them. Have a cup of tea. Tell them how sorry you are.
We need to be compassionate to ourselves. Other leaders and supervisors are going through the same thing all over the world. You're not alone in your struggles.
About The Speaker
Barbara Rubel is a keynote speaker on Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Traumatic Stress, or Vicarious Trauma. She motivates trauma-informed audiences to focus on evidence-based vicarious trauma-informed care: wellness, well-being, and resilience.
Connect with her on LinkedIn
Show Notes
(00:59) What is compassion fatigue? And, what is the relationship between compassion fatigue and employee productivity?
(02:17) How can employers mitigate the negative impact of compassion fatigue on their workforce?
(06:51) How does moral injury affect employee retention, and what strategies can organizations implement to support employees experiencing moral injury?
(11:17) What are some warning signs that an employee may be experiencing compassion fatigue, and how can managers address these concerns to prevent burnout?
(15:06) What are the long-term consequences of ignoring the impact of compassion fatigue and moral injury on employee productivity and retention, and how can employers proactively address these concerns to promote a healthy and sustainable workforce?
(17:29) How can organizations create a culture of empathy and support to cure the negative effects of compassion fatigue and moral injury on employee productivity and retention?
(20:05) Would you like to suggest any valuable tips to our corporate listeners?
