Compassion Fatigue Among Animal Shelter Volunteers: Examining Personal and Organizational Risk Factors

Jacobs, Jacquelyn; Reese, Laura A.

doi:10.1080/08927936.2021.1926719

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Euthanasia has been defined as a moral stressor, qualitatively different from other types of workplace stressors ( 24 ). Several studies have documented the negative effects of euthanasia on veterinary professionals ( 62 – 64 ). Involvement with euthanasia has been shown to result in compassion fatigue, stress-related somatic complaints, work-family conflict, and lower levels of job satisfaction ( 31 , 63 – 65 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health Impact of Mass Depopulation of Swine on Veterinarians During COVID-19 Infrastructure Breakdown

Baysinger¹,

Kogan

2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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This study was designed to assess the mental health of swine veterinarians involved with mass depopulation events related to COVID-19 and compare them to swine veterinarians not involved in mass depopulation. Additionally, we assessed the well being, quality of life, psychological distress, burnout, and resilience in veterinarians who conducted depopulation events and the potential impact of depopulation methods on these factors. Finally, we identified coping methods utilized by swine veterinarians for improved well being. The study involved the distribution of an anonymous online survey, available December 2020 to January 2021, to swine veterinarians practicing in the United States. A total of 134 responses were analyzed. Stress related to the depopulation effort was predominantly an outcome of two factors: ethics of care (people and pigs) and perception of others (public, colleagues, family, friends, neighbors). Depopulation involvement was associated with burnout (p = 0.001). The depopulation method utilized significantly impacted depopulation distress (p = 0.007), perception of others (p < 0.001), and burnout (p < 0.001). Nearly one-third (29%) of all participants reported moderate levels of burnout. Based on these results, the call to action is to enhance the availability and visibility of existing mental health services and take necessary steps to destigmatize mental health. Additionally, it is critical to support the development of mental health programs for swine veterinarians through education, training, research, and transparent communication.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health Impact of Mass Depopulation of Swine on Veterinarians During COVID-19 Infrastructure Breakdown

Baysinger¹,

Kogan

2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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“…One reality of the APW sector is the gendered nature of the work, as care work is predominately performed by women [ 21 , 46 , 47 , 48 ], and this is reflected in the sample in the current study. Coulter and Fitzgerald observe how the gendered composition of animal cruelty investigators complicated their jobs and increased work-related stresses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trauma in Animal Protection and Welfare Work: The Potential of Trauma-Informed Practice

Stevenson

Morales

2022

Animals

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Those who work in the animal protection and welfare (APW) sector are consistently exposed to human and animal suffering, particularly those who witness animal surrenders and seizures. Continued exposure to suffering can result in stress, anxiety, burnout, and compassion fatigue, which are detrimental to individual and organizational well-being. The aim of this study was to understand the challenges experienced by Canadian APW workers, and to explore how trauma-informed approaches can be implemented to help mitigate these challenges. To achieve this, we utilized purposive sampling to seek workers in the APW sector who had experience with animal surrender and/or seizure. Telephone interviews were conducted with 11 participants. Participants reported experiencing many challenges that negatively impacted their mental health; this article summarizes them by focusing on two key themes drawn from the narratives of the participants: feeling unprepared and forced strength. Trauma-informed practices are explored as a means to prevent compassion fatigue and burnout, and to increase the resilience of individuals and organizations. We suggest trauma-informed practices help APW workers manage job-related stressors while also providing a more compassionate experience for animal guardians. Further, we propose that trauma-informed practices are a crucial component in facilitating respectful relationships with the communities that APW organizations serve.

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“…Care workers are not simply passive bystanders, but many feel complicit in the routinization of animal death (Black et al, 2011;Frommer & Arluke, 1999). Animal shelter researchers have coined the concept of the "caring-killing paradox" (Jacobs & Reese, 2021), wherein employees are tasked with ending the lives of the very animals they wish to care for. Veterinarians across industries report clashes between their ethical codes and the exploitative production goals of the owners (Clarke & Knights, 2022).…”

Section: Working For Animals As Clientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

All Creatures Great and Small: A Review and Typology of Employee-Animal Interactions

Quan,

Lam,

Schabram

et al. 2023

Journal of Management

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Employees interact with animals in a myriad of ways in the context of work. Herein, we seek to catalog this multiplex phenomenon in order to gain theoretical insights. Our article unfolds in four parts. First, we conduct an interdisciplinary review from which we develop a typology of four employee-animal interactions: working for, with, around, and on animals. Second, we outline the current research for each discrete category. Third, we consider key divergent experiences (e.g., the uniquely gendered nature of each) and convergent themes (e.g., all animal work is emotional and hierarchical) across the typology. Fourth, we supplement our review with two metasyntheses of other workplace team interactions—employee-employee and employee-machine/artificial intelligence interactions—to highlight how the study of human-animal interactions can address current conundrums in the organizational domain. We do so to demonstrate that considerations of employee-animal interactions can offer theoretical value to scholars, including those who may not have an inherent interest in the phenomenon. We complement theoretical extensions with suggestions for future research on core management topics, including humanizing workplaces, the future of work, and team collaboration.

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Compassion Fatigue Among Animal Shelter Volunteers: Examining Personal and Organizational Risk Factors

Cited by 25 publications

References 49 publications

Mental Health Impact of Mass Depopulation of Swine on Veterinarians During COVID-19 Infrastructure Breakdown

Mental Health Impact of Mass Depopulation of Swine on Veterinarians During COVID-19 Infrastructure Breakdown

Trauma in Animal Protection and Welfare Work: The Potential of Trauma-Informed Practice

All Creatures Great and Small: A Review and Typology of Employee-Animal Interactions

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