Animal Welfare Work Is Meaningful AND Stressful. 

Animal welfare professionals regularly experience occupational stress injuries such as grief, trauma exposure, moral distress, compassion fatigue, and chronic workplace stress.

These are not signs of being "too sensitive" or a need for better self-care; rather, they are predictable hazards associated with high-stress, trauma-exposed professions.

Occupational stress injuries are not solely individual issues. They are shared concerns that require thoughtful, evidence-informed support and solutions at the individual, team, and organizational levels.

Supporting staff well-being involves more than simply encouraging self-care. It means creating healthier workplace cultures, strengthening supportive relationships, providing practical skills training and resources, and examining the working conditions that affect people's ability to do this work sustainably. 

Organizations have both an opportunity and a responsibility to support the people behind their mission. 

We can't eliminate the stress of doing meaningful work, but we can provide individuals, teams, and leaders the skills, support, and tools needed to better care for themselves and one another. Then everyone benefits, including the animals. 

Organizations Come to Compassion in Balance When They Want To... 

• Better support staff experiencing compassion fatigue and chronic stress.
• Equip managers and supervisors with practical tools to guide their teams.
• Build a more supportive workplace culture.
• Create a year-round wellbeing initiative that goes beyond self-care.
• Strengthen resilience, communication, and peer support within teams.
• Normalize conversations about stress, wellbeing, and occupational stress injuries.
• Provide practical resources that staff can access anytime.
• Invest in the wellbeing of the people behind their mission.

Organizations Use Compassion in Balance In Many Ways

• Annual staff compassion fatigue education
• Manager and supervisor development
• Team trainings and group discussions
• Guided self-care practices for staff
• Continuing education opportunities
• Wellbeing committee initiatives
• Volunteer training and appreciation
• Free educational resources 

"If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete." 

- Jack Kornfield

Why "Compassion in Balance"? 

I chose the name Compassion in Balance because compassion is not an either/or equation.

In animal welfare, we're often taught that caring deeply means putting the animals and mission first, no matter the cost.

We're conditioned to believe that we have to make a choice: either we can take care of the animals, OR we can (selfishly) care for ourselves. But that's the recipe for compassion fatigue and burnout. 

Compassion in balance means we care for ourselves and our staff, AND that's what allows us to care for animals and our community ethically, effectively, and sustainably.

As Barbara Kingsolver says:

"The power is in the balance."