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HEALTHY WORKING – DEALING WITH STRESS
WHY ADDRESS STRESS
Dealing with stress and burnout for persons in specified ministry (and their families), congregational members, employees and volunteers within the Uniting Church in Australia, Qld Synod is a pastoral care issue as well as an organisational necessity.
Research has clearly demonstrated that any professional (including persons in specified ministry) or person who works with other people are more prone to stress and burnout. Further, there is recognition that the experience of and stress burnout is associated with the spiritual life and identity of persons.
“Burnout is the index of the dislocation between what people are and what they have to do. It represents erosion in values, dignity, spirit, and will, an erosion of the human soul” (Maslach & Leiter, 1997 The truth about burnout: how organisations cause personal stress and what to do about it. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass p 17)
For a Church or agency where workplace stress is prevalent, the following may be occurring or experienced.
- Spiritual malaise
- Members , leaders, ministers and staff with low morale
- High absenteeism and staff, leadership and minister turnover
- Reduced Church attendance by congregational members
- Poor working relations
- Increased conflict
- Reduced capacity to achieve work outcomes and the mission of the Church
- High (or rising) accident and illness rates
- High (or rising) numbers of complaints
- Increasing use of Employee Assistance Program services
- Increasing numbers of people saying they are under stress
The Uniting Church in Australia, Qld Synod is committed to assisting individuals, congregations, presbyteries and its agencies to address the issues of stress and burnout from a holistic perspective.
RESOURCES
LINKS
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