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9. WORKER WELLBEING
The Eating Disorders Queensland (EDQ) team strives for continuous improvement and the delivery of highquality services. All practitioners undertake regular clinical, peer and external supervision and membership of a relevant professional association is a requirement of all workers. Practitioners ensure they are updated about the latest research through conferences and regular professional development. The overall wellbeing and mental health of workers is prioritised.
75. Worker wellbeing is valued and encouraged.
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This is a complex area of work, and it is in the best interests of all clients that workers can sustain themselves in this work in a healthy and balanced way. We know that workers’ longevity is impacted by conditions in the workplace 135 . If workers feel valued and have a voice in their workplace, they are less likely to experience the consequences of this complex work 136 . This is particularly the case in relation to experiences of vicarious trauma. Research has highlighted the importance of organisations providing a positive and supportive work environment and culture for staff to prevent worker stress, burnout and vicarious trauma 137 .
Workers will ideally have a balance between the different levels of work including individual counselling, group work, community education, etc and are able to rotate through these to gain additional skills and to reduce the incidence of burnout 138 .
76. Workers are supported through a culture of flexibility, autonomy and participation.
The organisation has a responsibility to treat workers as professionals and allow them the autonomy to do their job, with appropriate support being provided. This may include:
• Flexible working hours according to personal need and circumstance where possible. • Encouragement to take mental health days when needed. • The fostering of peer support.
Professional workers should be autonomous over their calendar management and have the ability to structure their days to meet client complexity and their individual needs 139 .
77. Multiple opportunities for reflection are provided to all workers.
Regular supervision, including internal, external, peer based, individual and team; regular case review meetings; and training and professional development opportunities are prioritised to ensure worker health and development. The provision of multiple opportunities for workers to reflect and process their work is essential to worker wellbeing 140 .
At times, debriefing should be provided to assist workers to process particularly challenging situations. This should include both formal and informal opportunities to process challenging work with colleagues and supervisors.
78. Worker authenticity is fostered.
To work effectively with clients, workers must be authentic and genuine in their approach. The same standards apply to collegial relationships where workers are encouraged to express their authentic selves in a variety of ways such as the way they dress, expressing their unique personalities and diverse interests and incorporating them in their work (such as yoga teaching, art, and music), and celebrating the strengths and existing skills of workers, including lived experience.
79. Workers may experience a range of personal and professional challenges in this work.
This is a complex area of work and at times workers will be challenged to explore the ways in which their own experiences have impacted on their view of bodies, food and the social images that objectify and judge bodies. Workers require multiple opportunities to check in with each other and discuss these challenges and what is required to remain sustainable.
A high level of self-care must be maintained by workers to sustain themselves in this work. This includes maintaining a balance between work and personal life, accessing social supports, taking regular breaks, engaging in supervision and other forms of reflection and support 141 . Research has suggested that self-care activities such as exercise, resting and meditating, engaging in pleasurable activities, and political activism assist workers to sustain themselves when working with complex trauma and related issues.
80. Workers ensure a high level of accountability to their clients, their organisation and their professional associations.
Workers must commit to a high level of accountability for their professional practice by:
• Ensuring their knowledge and skill base is continually updated. • Engaging in regular reflective practice. • Adhering to their organisations processes and requirements. • Ensuring they are full members of their relevant professional association. • Adhering to these professional practice standards and ethical guidelines.
81. Organisational integrity reduces the incidence of vicarious trauma for workers.
All the above points are designed to foster a work environment and culture where the most negative impacts of vicarious trauma are minimised. High quality service delivery is achieved by ensuring the same standards of work apply equally to workers and clients. This is an issue of organisational integrity – ensuring that there are no inconsistencies between the values of the organisation and the approach to managing workers.
Therefore, attention is required to the power imbalances inherent in a hierarchical organisation to minimise the degree to which leadership is separated from service delivery. Policies such as easy access to all leadership, including the CEO, and inclusion of staff in organisational processes such as planning, go a long way towards minimising these inherent imbalances.
Ensuring workers are supported to gain a positive balance between self-care and responsibility for client work as well as developing appropriate boundaries, can assist workers in managing the complexities of this work. Similarly, it is important for workers to have opportunities to enjoy each other’s company at work and to have fun together. This greatly assists in creating a positive workplace culture.
