Building Resilience in the Workforce

• hospices do differ from other health organisations but have a number of things in common;
• organisations should lead on developing and nurturing staff engagement;
• hospice staff do experience work-based stress but its level is no greater than that of staff working in other care environments;
• the majority of factors causing stress in the hospice workforce could be alleviated by good management practice;
• by actively supporting staff, organisations could reduce levels of employee stress, risk of burnout and compassion fatigue, and improve job satisfaction;
• more research is needed into the risk factors for staff burnout, to guide organisations in its prevention.

This framework and checklist:

• describes the range of interventions available for leaders to respond to;
• identifies the two different types of stress: that associated with organisational life, management and organisational change; and the stress that comes with caring for patients at the end of their lives;
• will help senior leaders to create strategies that ensure they build a healthy and resilient workforce;
• will enable hospice leaders to support their staff and help them flourish in stressful times;
• will help ensure that boards receive annual reports on its use. 

Hospice UK recognises that the resilience of hospice workers is vital to the future of hospice care. Responsible hospice leaders also acknowledge that the most important asset we have to enable high quality care is our workforce, including both staff and volunteers.

To find out how to enable staff to perform well when under stress, we commissioned research which has enabled us to respond in a practical and sustainable way that is easy for hospice staff to engage with.