Taking Care of Yourself

Workers in the AOD sector as well as in health and justice settings often experience high levels of work-related stress and demands. While work in the AOD sector is rewarding it can also be challenging [37572]. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AOD workers may also have additional challenges that contribute to stress in the working role. Knowing what helps to reduce stress at an organisational and individual level is important to enhancing health and wellbeing at work [37572][28152]. 

What is work-related stress and burnout?

Stress occurs when people feel they cannot cope with the demands placed upon them. Work stress refers to what happens when work demands get too much over a short-term period. Each person responds differently to stress in their work role. Understanding the factors and events that trigger stress and applying strategies to lower stress levels can help prevent the cumulative effects of stress over time.

Burnout is different to stress (but it may include signs and symptoms of stress). Burnout is a longer-term process where workers do not function well at work and develop negative and cynical attitudes towards clients and work in general. Stressful working conditions and job demands can result in worker burnout.

When people are burnt out they:

• feel overextended and emotionally and physically drained
• have a negative, detached or cynical view of their work
• feel like they are not accomplishing much at work
• feel they are stupid or that nothing they do has any effect [28152].

Stress and burnout can lead to:

• reduced job satisfaction
• lower job performance (quality and quantity of work)
• an increase in being absent from work and staff turnover
• reduced commitment to work and the organisation [26602].

Factors contributing to stress in AOD work

Factors contributing to stress for AOD workers include:

• stigma due to negative attitudes from working in the sector
• complex client case work
• poor working conditions such as inadequate clinical supervision, poor renumeration and high workloads.

For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AOD workers, working in the AOD sector has additional challenges for a range of reasons such as complex community obligations and racism in the mainstream community [26602].

Strategies to address stress and burnout

The best strategy to reduce stress and prevent burnout is an approach that focuses on both organisational responses and individual responses. Individual stress reduction strategies should be used in conjunction with organisational strategies to reduce stress, not in isolation [28152].

What can organisations do to support worker wellbeing?

Organisations can support workers by addressing aspects of the work situation that cause stress.

This could be things like:

• Regularly consult with staff about their workload
  • make sure staff are not overloaded
  • ensure workloads are shared evenly
  • involve staff in decision-making on issues which impact their work.
• Understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of working
  • have flexible working arrangements to allow workers to balance work, family and community commitments
  • recognise the importance of connections and obligations to land, community and kin
  • consult widely with communities.
• Provide role clarity
  • job descriptions let workers know what their roles are within their organisations.
• Supervision and support
  • clinical supervision – involves an experienced worker helping a less experienced worker to develop their clinical skills by providing guidance and support. This is an important way of preventing and managing stress. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AOD workers, this needs to occur in an Indigenous specific and culturally safe way.
  • debriefing – helps workers to carefully reflect on stressful events. This includes factors such as what led to the event, the worker’s reactions to the event and how future stressful events can be prevented. It is important for organisations to provide appropriate debriefing that best suits their workers.
  • mentoring – is where more experienced workers (mentors) work with less experienced workers. It provides a safe and supportive way to help the person being mentored, learn to manage stressful and hard situations. Mentoring also helps develop problem solving skills to address issues and problems that happen in the AOD field.
• Career paths
  • limited promotion opportunities for AOD workers can make it difficult to attract and keep staff. It is important to provide career paths for staff and to create senior staff positions that can be attained.
• Salaries
  • AOD workers do difficult and valuable work and deserve appropriate salaries. Equivalent salaries for staff from government, community controlled and non-government health services are important.
• Team and co-worker support
  • team and co-worker support is particularly important. In particular it is recommended that Indigenous appointments are not made in isolation, especially those working in remote areas or new workers.
• Qualifications and training
  • improved training and advanced skill development helps reduce stress levels among workers. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AOD workers and their managers may need additional and ongoing training to allow them to do their jobs well.

What can workers do to support their wellbeing?

Although many of the drivers of stress and burnout are organisational, individual workers can do a lot to manage their stress and reduce risk of burnout [46001].

This includes:

• setting realistic goals, recognise the value of small achievements and steps towards longer-term goals
• scheduling regular rest breaks
• seeking a mentor – for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AOD workers this may include a cultural mentor
• making exercise a priority (30 minutes or more per day)
• making friends at work
• supporting your mood and energy levels with a healthy diet
• avoiding nicotine and alcohol
• taking a complete break from work
• nourishing your creative side.

Having a balance between work and other commitments influences how they impact on one another. There is no ideal work/life balance. Everyone is different and the ‘right’ balance may change as commitments change. Flexible work arrangements help to manage work and life demands, for instance by allowing employees to work in patterns and places that fit their personal commitments [26582].

Table 2 below outlines some things AOD workers can do to regulate and manage stress.

Where to get more information on workforce support

The Australian Indigenous Alcohol and Other Drugs Knowledge Centre maintains a range of resources to support AOD workers in their practice. For more information please click on the links below:

Drug and alcohol courses

• a comprehensive listing of current drug and alcohol courses relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AOD workers.

Conferences, events and workshops

• a range of professional development opportunities in each state.

Handbook for Workers

• the Handbook for Aboriginal alcohol and other drug work provides practical information to guide AOD workers in their day-to-day work. Each chapter includes detailed information on approaches to alcohol and drug work, ranging from clinical guidelines and general principles of counselling to information on specific drugs.

Aboriginal community controlled health organisations also offer a wide variety of workforce support options, including workforce development units, health worker networks, accredited training courses and newsletters and magazines. Contact your relevant state or territory’s peak community controlled health organisation for more information about what is available in your region.

Information on this page is based on the Indigenous alcohol and other drug workers’ resource kit produced by the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander alcohol and other drug workers [26582].