This week we have a piece from one of our fantastic facilitators Gemma Houldey. Gemma has written a book about how to remain well and resilient within the humanitarian/charity sector. If you’re wanting to learn more about making your organisation and the sector more resilient and well, I’d highly recommend getting a copy of the book. To get a special 20% discount offer use FLY21 on the Routledge website. Over to Gemma for more info…
‘Having worked in the aid sector for over 15 years, I have seen how the pressure of this work never ends – and in the last 20 months this has increased due to Covid-19, its impact on vulnerable populations and on the working lives of aid agency staff.
It is my own experience of burnout that inspired me to study a PhD investigating stress among aid workers in Kenya, and then to write my new book, The Vulnerable Humanitarian: Ending Burnout Culture in the Aid Sector. This is a book about my personal struggles – and recovery and growth – but also it is an account of the everyday lives of people working for development, humanitarian and human rights organisations. It contains stories from national and international staff on the frontline of aid interventions, as well as those who work in management or administrative support. And it highlights the pervasive problems of bullying, discrimination and division that beset so many organisations whose primary goal is to do good.
My book will resonate with anyone who works in the charity sector, not only because of these common problems, but also because it contains ideas and practices to support you – whether you are a manager or a staff member – in creating healthier working environments.
These include guideposts to assess your decision-making processes and wellbeing strategies in your workplace – and the degree to which they cultivate psychological safety, inclusivity and equity. And self- and collective care practices aimed at bringing you back to a state of wholeness and human connection. Underlying these practices is a commitment to anti-racism and dismantling systems and processes at work that benefit some whilst marginalising others.
For me, ending burnout culture means leaning into discomfort at times: cultivating brave spaces to explore mental health challenges and the discrimination and abuses that affect some staff, every day. I hope The Vulnerable Humanitarian supports you in developing those spaces and conversations, so that you may feel more optimistic and more energised in the work you do and more able to take care of yourself and your colleagues.’
Do head over to Routledge to get your copy, and for more information on Gemma, please visit her website here.
With love as always, Hannah and Team Bird
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash