IAEVG International Conference, Quebec, June 3- 6 2014
An investigation into the nature of professional resilience of career guidance
practitioners’ in the Irish Local Employment Service (LES)
Dr. Lucy Hearne and Dr. Emmanuel O’Grady, University of Limerick, Ireland
Results
Introduction
This poster presents the findings from a
national on-line survey in 2013 that
investigated the issue of professional
resilience for career guidance practitioners
working in the 26 Irish Local Employment
Services (LES).
Sample (n=38): female (n=26) and males (n=12), working full-time (n=28) and part-time (n=6). Average age is 48, with age range of 29 to 63.
Of 36, professional role titles varied: 19 Mediators, 5 Co-ordinators, 5 Guidance Officers/Workers, 3 Adult Guidance Counsellors, 3 Information
Officers and 1 Career Guidance Practitioner. Length of time in current position ranged from 9 months to 17 years. Most significant impact of the
national recession on their work has been proliferation in number of clients seeking help (94%), poor employment progression options (91%),
increased client stress levels, increased administration workload for practitioners (88%), extensive waiting times for course availability (78%),
scarcity of educational options for clients in geographical areas (59%) and the government moratorium on recruitment in the LES (34%).
Figures 1 – 5 display additional key findings from quantitative data.
Rationale
8
My family
Policy Context
7
The Irish recession has resulted in a
concentrated policy strategy to address the
national unemployment rate and support
adults in their career trajectories. Specific
strategies such as the Pathways to Work
(DSP, 2013) have involved major structural
changes
across
the
training
and
employment sector including the LES
Network (McGuinness et al, 2011). Irish
employment services are now mandated to
monitor clients’ progression through
mechanisms and tools that somewhat
crudely seek to measure the outcomes of
interventions (Darmon & Perez, 2010; DSP,
2013). This requires LES practitioners to
be competent in a range of activities to
support and monitor the outcomes of their
interventions with clients.
6
LES colleagues
5
4
3
My friends
No
Yes
2
1
LES management
0
Government department/s
0
Figure 1. Prevalence of client issues as perceived by LES
practitioners – rating out of 10
5
10
15
20
25
30
Figure 2. Sources of support in their professional role
Professional Resilience
Resiliency research has concentrated on
qualities (risk factors, protective factors or
developmental assets); process (coping
with adversity, change, or opportunity
through
law
of
disruption
and
reintegration); and innate (motivational
forces leading to self-actualization and
reintegration of fractured identities from
disruptions) (Flach, 1997; Richardson,
2002). Recent ecological approaches view
resilience as a process of negotiation
between individuals and their environments
for the resources to support themselves
collectively (Ungar, 2012). Professional
resilience and burnout prevention are
pertinent to career guidance practitioners
working in the LES who are exposed to
clients’ difficult stories over time (Skovholt
& Trotter-Mathison, 2011).
My Friends:
Sometimes
My Family :
No
LES staf f :
LES management:
Y es
LES clients:
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Aim of study was to explicate issues
related to LES practitioners’ resilience, and
well-being in the context of supporting
unemployed individuals and a high national
unemployment rate.
10
15
20
25
30
35
Qualitative Findings
25
20
15
10
5
YES
No
0
LES practitioners reported the most rewarding aspect of their
work is the “meaningful engagement” they have with their
clients. They view themselves as “change agents” in their
clients’ progression. But some of this is becoming eroded
because of enforced limitations on the amount and levels of
interventions with LES clients with some practitioners “being
pulled from all corners”.
In the main, whilst they do not have a high level of autonomy in
their work, they experience reasonable rather than excessive
demands from management in their workplace and the level of
conflict between staff and management in their LES is low.
Method
This research used an online survey (Survey
Monkey) to the total population of LES
career guidance practitioners in the 26 LES
Network. This survey explored practices
relating to: work practices, client issues,
stress, burnout, emotional well-being,
professional resiliency, self-regulation and
restorative practices such as supervision and
CPD. Descriptive analysis was used to
explicate findings.
5
Figure 4. Participants’ capacity to set boundaries with others
Figure 3. Prevalence of participants availing of external professional
supervision
30
Research Aim
0
Figure 5. Experience of burnout symptoms (Morrissette 2002) by
practitioners
In general, practitioners reported they take care of themselves
(nutritionally, emotionally and psychologically) as much as
possible, they have an optimistic outlook in relation to their work,
and have a physically active lifestyle. Some practitioners have
had to cut back to part-time work, for one of them this has been
to “redress a work-life imbalance to some extent”. Another
practitioner has so far “managed to leave the frustrations and
feelings of powerlessness at work behind me when I go home”.
Overall Conclusions
• Client issues such as financial concerns, anxiety about the future, sense of hopelessness, poor self confidence, and lack of motivation are deemed most salient by the LES career guidance
practitioners.
• The workload of practitioners has increased exponentially since the economic recession and is thus impacting on the quality of the ‘relational’ aspect of their work with clients.
• Practitioners are largely supported by their family, friends and LES colleagues, but largely unsupported by Government policy makers.
• The most common burnout symptoms experienced by practitioners' are low energy, empathy fatigue, emotional and mental exhaustion, increased irritability, and extreme dissatisfaction at
work.
• Practitioners do not avail of external professional supervision due it not being provided or financed by their employers, and consequently rely on their own self-care strategies to maintain
resilience and wellbeing for their work.
References
Darmon, I., & Perez, C. (2010) ‘Conduct of conduct’ or the shaping of ‘adequate dispositions?’ Labour market and career guidance in four European countries. Critical Social Policy, 31(1): 77–101
Department of Social Protection (2013) Pathways to Work. Retrieved from http://www.welfare.ie/
Flach, F.F. (1997) Resilience: How to bounce back when the going gets tough. NY: Hatherleigh Press.
McGuinness, S., O’Connell, P.J., Kelly, E., & Walsh, J.R. (2011) Activation in Ireland: An Evaluation of the National Employment Action Plan. Retrieved from http://www.esri.ie/UserFiles/publications/RS20.pdf
Richardson, G.E. (2002) ‘The Metatheory of Resilience and Resiliency’, Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58:3,pp.307-321.
Skovholt, T.M., & Trotter-Mathison, M. (2011) The Resilient Practitioner; burnout prevention and self-care strategies for counsellors, therapists, teachers, and health professionals. NY: Routledge.
Ungar, M. (2012) The Social Ecology of Resilience: A Handbook of Theory and Practice. New York: Springer Retrieved from http://resilienceresearch.org/2012