Working in a humanitarian context presents numerous challenges that significantly impact the staff’s wellbeing and mental health. Humanitarian staff may find themselves exposed to both the typical internal challenges of a workplace, such as work-related anxiety and stress from overwork, and those dictated by the complexities of working in difficult contexts and with highly vulnerable people. Without adequate support, when staff are overwhelmed by stress, the consequences for their mental and physical health can be serious.

Mental health challenges faced by humanitarian staff

Katerina Jelissejeva, as JRS Global Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Officer, works closely with MHPSS staff at regional and country levels and often hears their stories of hardship and distress.

“Many experience feelings of compassion fatigue, burnout, and anxiety, as well as profound sadness, helplessness, and the desperation of not being able to support every person who asks for help,” she explained. Since working in a humanitarian organisation is emotionally demanding, it can be challenging to maintain a balance between professional and personal boundaries, especially for staff who themselves have experienced forced displacement or situations of distress. Oftentimes, they may relive their experiences through the people they serve.

“Colleagues may feel guilty for taking breaks, going out with friends, or spending time with family. The overwhelming workload and internal work conflicts can make normal stress unmanageable, leading to depression, anxiety, and burnout—issues that can take a long time to recover from and often result in employees leaving the organisation. It can happen to anyone, no matter their energy levels or coping resources,” she said.

Preventing work-related mental health issues through staff care

JRS started a staff care initiative in 2016 to ensure employee wellbeing. While MHPSS programmes are primarily developed to support the people we serve, staff care presents a duty of care and safeguarding of the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and psychosocial wellbeing of employees.

MHPSS and staff care are not the same thing, but they are strongly interconnected. JRS approaches staff wellbeing through a psychosocial lense, recognising that mental health depends on a complex mix of social and environmental factors, and MHPSS framework informs staff initiatives. A few years ago, Kailey Cano, JRS Senior Staff Care Consultant, experienced this interconnection herself, working with the team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many staff members lost their homes due to the fighting and were transferred to hotels with their children to whom they had to explain that they could no longer return to their homes. “Through a joint intervention with the MHPSS Unit, we were able to quickly help the staff with psychosocial support services and specific resources on how to talk to children during a critical incident.”

The primary responsibility for staff care lies with the organisation. Building a workplace culture that cares for the wellbeing of the staff means listening to employees’ needs and trying to address those social factors that can protect their wellbeing or put it at risk.

As observed by Noelle Jouan, JRS MENA MHPSS Officer, people in her region, including JRS staff, are under continuous and uncontrollable stress, dictated by constant instability and uncertainty about what might happen.
“The unknown of what will happen in the future is the most stressful factor that people are facing right now. Our staff come to work every day with their personal struggles and responsibilities, which must be taken into account. Managers have the crucial responsibility to recognise and address the mental health needs of their team,” she said.

Organisations can take concrete steps to prioritise their employees’ mental wellbeing by investing more in staff care programmes.

Essential steps to prioritise mental wellbeing in the workplace

As Kailey, JRS Senior Staff Care Consultant, noted, the staff care programme is relatively new and still has implementation gaps. In most regions where JRS operates, staff care programmes provide essential services such as interventions that improve working conditions – flexible work arrangements, transparent processes, access to rest and recuperation – as well as specialised counselling services.

However, there are areas where further development is needed to enhance staff support.

Key steps include raising awareness of mental health’s importance among management and employees, improving mental health knowledge, and reducing stigma against mental health problems at work. Strengthening the capacity of managers to recognise and address mental health problems within their teams can serve as a huge protective factor. Katerina, JRS Global MHPSS Officer, also pointed out that, “in the humanitarian settings, we are still quite behind with recognising how important it is to take care of staff. It is quite a paradox if you think about it – we are so good at helping and advocating for the most in need, but often, colleagues who implement our programmes, are invisible in their struggles.”

Noelle, JRS MENA MHPSS Officer, highlighted the urgency in regional and country offices where MHPSS officers are present but lack staff care experts: “if staff feel stressed, distressed or are experiencing something they want to talk about, they immediately go to the MHPSS person,” this leads to a situation where MHPSS staff take on the additional responsibility of caring for their colleagues. “From the MHPSS team we are expected to be able to manage our emotions and take care of ourselves, but at the same time, we forget that we too are human beings and need support. Sometimes we feel exhausted. We feel burnt out.”

Promoting and protecting mental health in the workplace also requires investing in individual interventions, such as peer support groups, Psychological First Aid (PFA) training, coaching, and supportive listening. “These activities would strengthen the ability of individuals to cope and adapt to the countless challenges and stresses that work throws at us, but also to learn how to best support their colleagues,” Kailey JRS Senior Staff Care Consultant concluded.

While significant progress has been made, more work is needed. A supportive work environment that facilitates access to wellbeing resources enhances productivity, encourages staff retention, and offers better support to the people served.