“Emotionally draining” work and wages that do not reflect those demands, or keep up with the cost of living, are among the pressures harming the wellbeing of homelessness charity workers, research has found.
A survey of 1,229 UK frontline homelessness workers, most of whom are employed by charities, shows just over half (51%) believe the stresses of their jobs are having a negative impact on their wellbeing, with almost 80% worried about burnout.
London-based St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity, which carried out the exercise, called on the government to commit to improving pay and conditions in the sector.
Staff at major UK homelessness charities have been balloted on strike action over pay and conditions several times in recent years.
Conditions ‘very challenging’
The charity asked respondents, all of whom provide direct support to people who are homeless or at risk of losing their home, about the availability of housing in their area, demand on services and the impact on their work lives.
Just over half (51%) of those who responded work for homelessness charities, with a further 21% employed by housing associations, the majority of which are registered charities.
Most (85%) reported challenges accessing suitable accommodation for clients, with just above half (52%) reporting that this had got harder over the past 12 months. Less than 3% said it was easy to access private rented accommodation for clients.
The charity also asked about workers’ conditions, support, pay and wellbeing.
“Conditions remain very challenging, with many experiencing higher demands for their services, limited resources and housing options, low pay and a lack of support or recognition of their skilled work,” its report says.
Overall, 29% of respondents said they felt at risk of burnout often or always, and an additional 49% sometimes did.
More than a third (36%) said they did not have time to do their jobs.
“The amount of stress we are under due to high needs clients impacts our wellbeing,” said one worker at a Newham-based charity.
Commenting on the findings, Heidi-Victoria Ireland, UKSPF programme manager at the Warren Youth Project charity in Hull, said the large numbers of young people accessing services were “tiring” for workers.
“It can be frustrating. It’s difficult when the systems prevent support” for vulnerable young people, she said. “We’ve got a big focus within our team of self-care – you need to really manage boundaries and switch off when you go home at night.”
Most workers said support was strong from their immediate team, with 88% feeling supported by colleagues and 79% by their manager, although some respondents said senior leaders were out of touch with the realities of frontline roles.
Pay not keeping pace with living costs
As well as the systemic pressures of the job, just under half (47%) of respondents felt their pay was neither fair for the work involved nor enough to cover their housing and living costs.
People in the voluntary sector were particularly likely to highlight their wages, relative to the skills and stresses of their job, as being low compared with similar roles elsewhere.
“Our peers in the council who have exactly the same roles and responsibilities as us are paid at a much higher grade than us,” said one worker at a Cardiff homelessness charity.
Despite the negative findings, almost three-quarters (75%) of respondents said they were likely to continue working in homelessness for more than two years.
Duncan Shrubsole, chief executive of St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity who co-authored the report, said prime minister Andy Burnham’s commitments to improving pay and conditions for the social care workforce should extend to people working for homelessness charities and peer organisations.
As well as direct measures to tackle the housing crisis, the government must “ensure there is long-term funding for homelessness services, including so they can recruit, retain and support skilled staff”, he said.
“Frontline workers have the empathy, expertise and experience to support people out of homelessness in the most challenging circumstances – they need to be valued, listened to and appropriately paid and supported,” he said.
“If we do that, we can all look forward to a country that has tackled rough sleeping for good.”
