Expert-Speak: Compassion Fatigue – The Dangerous Descent From Helping To Hurting

Published 1 month ago
Gary Martin-The writer and professor is CEO of the Australian Institute of Management in Western Australia and a workplace and social trends specialist.
Burnout businesswoman under pressure in the office
Compassion fatigue occurs when individuals, particularly those in supervisory, management or leadership roles, find themselves absorbing the emotional stress of their team members well beyond their personal capabilities. (Getty Images)

It is a workplace reality that caring too much for your colleagues can hurt you.

It is the essence of ‘compassion fatigue’, a increasingly common concern in workplaces all around us.

Consider a librarian stacking books on a shelf designed to comfortably hold 20 volumes.

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Day by day, more books are added to push the load to 30 and then 40. Eventually, the shelf buckles under the weight of twice its intended capacity.

The shelf is no longer able to perform its primary function without repair or reinforcement.

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This analogy vividly illustrates the dangers of compassion fatigue – an affliction of growing concern in many workplaces.

Compassion fatigue occurs when individuals, particularly those in supervisory, management or leadership roles, find themselves absorbing the emotional stress of their team members well beyond their personal capabilities.

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In the modern workplace, individuals are increasingly expected to navigate high-stress environments themselves while providing support and maintaining a high level of empathy and sensitivity towards their colleagues.

This often means they prioritize the needs of others above their own.

Over time, this unsustainable cycle leads to a breakdown and renders them incapable of assisting anyone – including themselves.

This phenomenon is characterized by a profound emotional and physical exhaustion that diminishes a person’s ability to empathize or feel compassion for others.

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Originally identified among professions with high exposure to traumatic situations, in sectors such as healthcare, social work and emergency services, it is now recognized as a more widespread issue affecting individuals in a wide variety of workplaces.

For instance, nurses and doctors face daily trauma as they care for critically-ill patients, sometimes leading to emotional exhaustion and reduced empathy.

In a corporate setting, consider a project manager who oversees a high-pressure team with tight deadlines and significant client demands.

This manager constantly mediates conflicts, manages stress and provides emotional support to their team. Over time, the continuous emotional labor without adequate breaks or support can lead to compassion fatigue.

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And employees in high-stress customer service roles, like call center agents, experience repetitive emotional strain from handling constant complaints, which can lead to diminished sympathy and patience.

Compassion fatigue can present differently in everyone while individuals might observe its symptoms in their personal life, their work environment or both.

Common signs include irritability, anger and anxiety, which are often accompanied by sleep disturbances such as insomnia or nightmares.

Individuals might feel burdened by the emotional demands of their roles, leading to reduced job satisfaction and a withdrawal from social interactions. Both physical and mental fatigue are common alongside a loss of enjoyment in daily activities.

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There can be issues with concentration, a tendency to suppress emotions and a dread of work responsibilities – coupled with feelings of guilt.

Some might experience numbness, hopelessness or a sense of powerlessness.

Denial is also a significant barrier, preventing individuals from acknowledging their struggles and seeking help.

While compassion fatigue and burnout are often seen as the same, primarily because they both involve emotional and physical exhaustion, they differ in their origins and how they present.

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Compassion fatigue arises specifically from prolonged exposure to others’ trauma or significant distress. Burnout stems from chronic workplace stress and overwork, affecting various job sectors beyond caregiving.

Recognizing these signs is crucial for safeguarding against the debilitating effects of compassion fatigue.

Prevention also requires an individual to cultivate a balance between being empathetic and maintaining emotional boundaries to prevent the over-absorption of others’ stress and emotional states.

For those who feel they might be at risk of succumbing to compassion fatigue, it is worth remembering the many adages that highlight the importance of self-care. So, heed the wisdom of adages such as “you cannot pour from an empty cup”, which underscores the importance of self-care in sustaining one’s ability to care for others.

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