Recovery worker’s experiences: tensions on the ‘frontline’

Hugh Deeming

What is a ‘Frontline Worker’?

• Cat 1 & 2 Responders

• Public Sector

• Private Sector

• NGO Sector

Recovery Plan Guidance Template (HMG, 2008: p. 4)

What is a ‘Frontline Recovery Worker’?

“…the frontline often emerges in unexpected places” (Convery, et al., 2008 p.114).

What is a ‘Frontline Recovery Worker’?

• Permanent and temporary staff whose jobs were created specifically to deal with the issue of flood recovery (e.g. The Hull ‘Flood Advice Service’)

• Those whose pre-existing job roles were transformed to deal with flooding issues (e.g. Cumbria’s ‘Community Unit’).

• “Traditional” intermediary roles (e.g. Loss adjusters; Citizen’s Advice)

• Informal work that was carried out in a voluntary capacity by community groups (e.g. Faith Groups; Flood Action Groups)

“Pressure of work may sometimes

be sustained over long periods.

Agencies

need to ensure they look after the

physical, emotional and

psychological welfare of staff –

managers should be trained in

what to look out for in both the

short and longer term.”

“With regard to psychological welfare,management should consider the need for:

• proper briefing to ensure people know what is happening and what their contribution will be;

• honest information about what to expect where unpleasant or stressful tasks are involved;

• quiet space to prepare, unwind or think;

• someone to discuss experiences with, both at the time and afterwards;

• providing access to information on sources of help or support;

• information about what constitutes a normal reaction;

• similar support and information for family or partners; and

• debriefing at the end of a day’s activity and the close of operations.”

FLRW: Role experience• Positive– Job satisfaction (helping others)– Team camaraderie (sharing the experience) – Perspective (on own situation)– New skills = enhanced CV– Recognition of personal role value • by public • by employing organisation (e.g. local knowledge,

flexible approaches)– Recognition of organisation’s role value• As ‘community’ builder• As resilience builder

FLRW: Role experience

• Negative– Stress through volume and intensity of work– Focus of blame (“Why aren’t you helping us?”)– Emotional labour (“staying strong”)

• Balancing personal needs against ‘client’ needs• Never ‘off-duty’

– Lack of support / resources• Pressure from employer to “think of the flood victims”,

when the FLRW was a “flood victim” too– Failure in organisational learning

• FLRW ideas and experiences not used to amend perceived inefficiencies or unfairness in operating procedures or bureaucratic process

Beccy: “Do you get a sense that anything positive has come out of the floods or not?”

James: “I think recognition for the wardens from people like the Council, because I think they’ve not only recognised the flexibility, how quickly they can respond, but I think they’ve also recognised that [the wardens] have skills and one of those skills is to talk to the public, because a lot of people you know, can sit in an office and talk to the public across the table but to go out and talk to them in their homes and be understanding. And we’ve seen some wardens, especially some of the younger ones, who didn’t want to go out and do it, who were getting very upset when they were at somebody’s house and they were all weeping and they do this eight times a day. And they found that very demoralising and emotional, but they’ve done a super job. So I think yes, there have been positive things coming out of it.”

Lessons for recovery-staff management• Recovery generates:

– New roles and training needs– New opportunities for community building– Challenges to existing operating procedures and

opportunities for improving them• But also:– The need to account for and to mitigate FL work-

related stresses – Volunteer staff and ‘flood-affected’ staff should be

actively prevented from falling between cracks in any support arrangements