Work–Life Intersections in Peacebuilding, Development, and Humanitarian Aid

SAGE has curated a collection of research to commemorate World Humanitarian Day

By Nate Van Duzer

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many office workers have experienced a blurring of boundaries between home and work. For national or expatriate workers in the fields of peacebuilding, development, and humanitarian aid, the challenges associated with navigating work-life intersections are nothing new.

On August 19, World Humanitarian Day, we should pause and recognize the important contributions - and sacrifices - that aid workers make on a daily basis. Humanitarian organizations should also take this opportunity to increase support for their employees. One survey of aid workers found that 40% experienced one type of burnout - either emotional exhaustion, a disconnection from the work, or feeling a lack of personal accomplishment - and 3.6% exhibited symptoms of all three.

For these workers, a lack of steady community, inconsistent schedules, a proximity to violence and deprivation, overwhelming service needs, and a sense that their efforts are truly meaningful can allow work to dominate other aspects of life. A work-centric identity is not necessarily harmful, but when humanitarians experience burn out, they operate less reflectively and the work can suffer as a result. Significant stress can also impact workers’ physical health.

Just before the pandemic forced governments to shut workplaces and close borders, I completed interviews of twenty workers from fifteen countries in the fields of peacebuilding, development and humanitarian aid. I also reviewed research that explored work-life intersections generally and in the context of humanitarian work specifically. Here are a few lessons I learned:

1) Personal preferences matter.

When there is a stark contrast between the realities of work and the realities of non-work life, transitioning between the two can prove more challenging. Humanitarians must navigate these transitions regularly, but there is no one-size-fits-all approach for doing so. Some individuals prefer harder boundaries between work and life; some prefer to integrate the two. Some may feel perfectly fine taking care of work business at home, but not home business at work, or vice versa. What may be most important is that individuals discern their preferred mode of engagement and find roles that allow for them to engage that way.

2) Identity matters.

Studies show that when someone roots their identity in work, then work is more likely to spill over into other domains of life. Conversely, if someone has a strong family-based identity, for example, one may be more willing to interrupt work to take care of family needs. If one places relatively equal value on one’s identity both at work and away from work, then the boundary between the two domains may be stronger.

The individuals I interviewed employed a variety of strategies to manage work and non-work identities. As humanitarians frequently find their work meaningful, it can be easier to construct a work-centric identity. Cultivating a non-work identity, be it through family, community, or other hobbies and interests, takes intentional effort.

3) Supervisors and organizational supports matter.

Supervisors impact work-life intersections in several ways. First, they model either good or bad behavior. Second, supervisors can help protect an employees’ workload by saying no to new work on the employee’s behalf. Third, supervisors can support the employee’s own requests for time away from work. To the extent they can, individual humanitarians may do well to examine more closely the habits and expectations of supervisors or organizational leaders before accepting a new position. For their part, humanitarian organizations should ensure that frontline supervisors are adequately trained to provide this type of support.

The career paths of those I interviewed highlighted that achieving a satisfactory balance in work-life intersections is often a process, not a final product. Many experienced seasons of intensity and seasons of rest. Humanitarians can recognize that one position may allow for more or less non-work life than the next and should reflectively discern their needs and desires in times of transition.