What are the effects of working remotely on practitioner wellbeing?

Working with individuals and families experiencing DFV can affect practitioners’ mental health and wellbeing. DFV work can be stressful, emotional and fatiguing, particularly during times of increased demand. Transitioning to remote service delivery and bringing trauma work into their homes can take an additional toll on practitioners’ wellbeing, especially during times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic (Carrington et al., 2020; Pascoe, 2022; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon & Meyer, 2022; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, Meyer, & True, 2020; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, & True, 2020, 2022). Practitioners may find it challenging to maintain professional and personal boundaries and connect to the support of their team while working remotely.

Australian research on DFV practitioners’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic found that practitioners experienced feelings of isolation and loneliness when working remotely from their homes (Baffsky et al., 2022; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, McGowan, & True, 2020; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon & Meyer, 2022; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, & True, 2022). Working from home physically isolates practitioners from their colleagues and limits opportunities for peer support and debriefing; practices that are central to self-care practice when dealing with clients experiencing trauma and abuse (Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, McGowan, & True, 2020; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon & Meyer, 2022; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, & True, 2022).

Practitioners also experienced increased stress and anxiety due to heightened risk and safety concerns for clients during the pandemic (Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, McGowan, & True, 2020; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon & Meyer, 2022 Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, & True, 2022). Bringing trauma work into homes can blur boundaries between work and home life, invading practitioners’ safe spaces.

What are the implications for practice?

Remotely delivering support to clients experiencing trauma and abuse can take a significant toll on DFV workers’ mental health and wellbeing (Baffsky et al., 2022; Carrington et al., 2021; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, McGowan, & True, 2020; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon & Meyer, 2022; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, & True, 2022). Practitioners working remotely during COVID-19 reported increased stress and fear of burnout due to a number of factors including a sense of holding and managing risk individually during a period of increased demand (Baffsky et al., 2022; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, McGowan, & True, 2020; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon & Meyer, 2022; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, & True, 2022).

Inadequate remote workspaces can also impact practitioners’ ability to work safely in their homes and deliver DFV support remotely (Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, McGowan, & True, 2020). Furthermore, there can be practice challenges in relation to difficulties engaging with clients and reduced ability to recognise signs of abuse and assess risk, leading to concerns among practitioners that they would miss non-verbal cues and physical signs of abuse (Cortis, Smyth, Valentine, Breckenridge, & Cullen, 2021).

What works to respond to the challenges practitioners experience?

There is currently limited evidence for how best to support workers remotely delivering DFV services. Research that explored self-care practices implemented by DFV practitioners during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that ongoing access to peer support and maintaining social connections with co-workers is critical (Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, McGowan, & True, 2020; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon & Meyer, 2022; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, & True, 2022). Previous research on the psychological impact of trauma work among DFV workers indicates that social support at work is also linked to positive outcomes for workers’ emotional wellbeing (Brend, Krane, & Saunders, 2019; Slattery & Goodman, 2009). A culture of professional peer support can counter the ‘negative effects of bearing witness to traumatic stories and imagery’ (Slattery & Goodman, 2009, p. 1369). Practitioner experiences during COVID-19 indicate that individual and group self-care strategies using digital platforms (e.g. virtual tea/coffee breaks, group online guided meditation/mindfulness sessions) can work to foster a positive workplace culture that promotes collegial social support among employees (Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, McGowan, & True, 2020).

Recent Australian evidence on wellbeing supports for DFV practitioners working remotely indicates that the following self-care practices may be beneficial (Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, McGowan, & True, 2020; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, & Meyer, 2022; Pfitzner, Fitz-Gibbon, & True, 2022):

• team check-ins via web-based platforms
• remote reflective practice sessions
• remote guided meditation
• virtual social coffee sessions
• a wellbeing buddy system in which practitioners are paired with colleagues to stay connected during remote work
• taking breaks from work through use of annual leave
• flexible work arrangements to accommodate care responsibilities
• regular exercise.

In addition to individual workers taking proactive steps to prioritise their self-care, DFV services, like all employers, have a duty of care to provide safe and healthy working environments and can play a critical role in creating workplace cultures that prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of practitioners. The resources listed below are available to assist services to support worker wellbeing.

Conclusion

Practitioners working with victim/survivors of domestic and family violence can experience heightened stress when working remotely from home. To date, most research on this topic focuses on working remotely during times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, but many of the key findings from this research are likely to be applicable to all remote working for DFV workers. To mitigate the emotional and mental demands of this work, practitioners and DFV agencies can implement strategies to provide supervisory and collegial social support at work, such as virtual team check-ins, reflective practice sessions and flexible work arrangements, to promote practitioner wellbeing and reduce the risk of burnout.

Further reading and related resources

• Work-induced stress and vicarious trauma (1800Respect) 
  Information about workplace stress for professionals who support people impacted by sexual assault, domestic and family violence.
• Wellbeing and self-care (1800Respect) 
  Information about wellbeing and self-care for professionals who support people impacted by sexual assault, domestic and family violence.
• Full Stop Australia 
  A website offering educational and training resources to counselling and health care professionals, including help with self-care.
• Safe + Equal 
  A website with practitioner resources on topics related to professional wellbeing, self-care and professional sustainability, including vicarious trauma and burnout.
• Supporting the Wellbeing of Family Violence Workers During Times of Emergency and Crisis 
  Best practice guidelines for supporting worker wellbeing produced by the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.

References

Baffsky, R., Beek, K., Wayland, S., Shanthosh J., Henry, A., & Cullen, P. (2022). ‘The real pandemic’s been there forever’: Qualitative perspectives of domestic and family violence workforce in Australia during COVID-19. BMC Health Services Research, 22, 337.

Brend, D. M., Krane, J., & Saunders, S. (2020). Exposure to trauma in intimate partner violence human service work: A scoping review. Traumatology, 26(1), 127–136.

Carrington, K., Morley, C., Warren, S., Harris, B., Vitis, L., Ball, M., et al. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on domestic and family violence services and clients. Brisbane: QUT Centre for Justice, Queensland University of Technology. Retrieved from eprints.qut.edu.au/206624/1/72848410.pdf

Cortis, N., Smyth, C., Valentine, K., Breckenridge, J., & Cullen, P. (2021). Adapting service delivery during COVID-19: experiences of domestic violence practitioners. The British Journal of Social Work, 51(5), 1779–1798.

Pascoe, K. M. (2022). Remote service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic: Questioning the impact of technology on relationship-based social work practice. The British Journal of Social Work, 52(6), 3268–3287.

Pfitzner, N., Fitz-Gibbon, K., McGowan, J., & True, J. (2020). When home becomes the workplace: Family violence, practitioner wellbeing and remote service delivery during COVID-19 restrictions. Melbourne: Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, Monash University. doi.org/10.26180/13108352

Pfitzner, N., Fitz-Gibbon, K., & Meyer, S. (2022). Responding to women experiencing domestic and family violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: Exploring experiences and impacts of remote service delivery in Australia. Child & Family Social Work, 27(1), 30–40. doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12870

Pfitzner, N., Fitz-Gibbon, K., Meyer, S., & True, J. (2020). Responding to Queensland’s ‘shadow pandemic’ during the period of COVID-19 restrictions: Practitioner views on the nature of and responses to violence against women. Melbourne: Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, Monash University. doi.org/10.26180/5ef9b6ab3f5a1

Pfitzner, N., Fitz-Gibbon, K., & True, J. (2020). Responding to the ‘shadow pandemic’: Practitioner views on the nature of and responses to violence against women in Victoria, Australia during the COVID-19 restrictions. Melbourne: Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, Monash University. doi.org/10.26180/5ed9d5198497c

Pfitzner, N., Fitz-Gibbon, K., & True, J. (2022). When staying home isn't safe: Australian practitioner experiences of responding to intimate partner violence during COVID-19 restrictions. Journal of Gender-Based Violence, 1–18. doi.org/10.1332/239868021X16420024310873

Slattery, S., & Goodman, L. (2009). Secondary traumatic stress among domestic violence advocates: Workplace risk and protective factors. Violence Against Women, 15(11), 1358–1379.