Earlier this year, the Congressional Management Foundation hosted a "Life in Congress" Webinar titled "Strengthening Emotional Well-Being and Personal Resilience." The webinar provided insightful, expert guidance to congressional staff on how to strengthen your well-being and resilience and more effectively manage stress and personal safety concerns. We greatly appreciate our guests Dawn Haag-Hatterer, J.D., SPHR, SHRM-SCP, and the directors of the House Office of Employee Assistance (OEA) and the Senate Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The link to the recording of the webinar and related handouts is at the end of this post.
The inevitable burnout that staffers assumed to candidly be part of the job, in turn, is seemingly much more avoidable than we think. Yet, unbeknownst to most, the steps to self-care may yield more rewarding, advantageous, results that reflect profoundly in both our personal and professional lives. It's an individual process, though, and one that takes resiliency and patience to balance the taxing parts of the job that often leave us subject to burnout. Below are three essential pieces of advice to confront burnout head on.
- Communication is Key – It's a repetitive statement we've grown accustomed to hearing, but it's not necessarily implemented in our lives correctly. Communication shouldn't just be between you and your supervisor but rather should be built into your professional and personal relationships. Oftentimes overlooked, communicating with and training your interns and newer staffers is essential to get everyone on board with what is going on around the office. Yes, even communicating the latest information and reassuring family members of any incidents on the Hill is essential. And of course, communicating with staff – this includes developing plans and communicating major events in the near-distant future along with giving them a space to talk freely about concerns or anxiety they might be feeling.
- Restorative Resilience – Finding a way to tap into your resilience is crucial to ease burnout. Conflicts and disputes are going to happen. The way you personally handle them is what is important. As Dawn Haag-Hatterer remarked, "You deserve self-care. By doing this, you are showing others how to be successful." We know you want to help as many people as possible all while managing everything from day-to-day work along with meetings and paperwork. Before any task can successfully be administered, you need to focus on yourself for once with self-care. Providing yourself with the space to grow not only helps your mental and physical health but you positively affect those around you too. Self-care strategies include maintaining healthy routines, basic bodycare, finding recharging activities that work for you, and engaging actively and intentionally. These strategies all allude to finding what makes you happy. Without working on transparency and resiliency, it will be a lot harder to be successful.
- Living in the Now – This trend of self-care continues with what Dawn Haag-Hatterer states, "Being present in the moment instead of just blindly walking through life without taking notice to the details." Taking notice of the details to the people and places you interact with and go to gives you more of a purpose. "Remember why you got into this work in the first place," CMF President & CEO Bradford Fitch noted. Asking people why they got involved in their job or what motivates them can create a wholesome conversation. Along the lines of productive conversations, setting up problem-solving and information-sharing sessions (such as for caseworkers) creates a space for productive dialogue and creates less stress. Positive reinforcement from management is vital. Having an in-person conversation will maximize the effectiveness of limiting burnout. If the same deterrent keeps arising, create a "Stop-Doing" list so you can find ways to switch up the tasks that drive you crazy.
Check in with yourself and see where things could go better but more importantly, commend yourself for all the successes you have achieved. Do not allow yourself to overdo it. Prioritizing yourself will minimize casework burnout to the extent of which you put in the effort. You are worth it and don't forget helping yourself, helps all those around you personally and professionally.
To listen to the full conversation and ideas discussed, click on the following link to access the webinar recording (along with additional related handouts): http://www.congressfoundation.org/projects/life-in-congress/work-life-training-programs
This blog post was written by Harrison Kane, a Research Assistant at CMF. He is currently a junior Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow majoring in Legal Studies at Nazareth College.
