The pandemic shows no sign of abating. We continue to hear from ministers and other staff who are fatigued and at risk of burnout. They've earned vacation, study leave, or sabbatical time but are struggling to pull away due to workload, pressure from lay leaders or supervisors, and/or their own work ethic.
COVID-19 has increased the burden on so many. Staff with kids at home feel the strain of working while parenting without the usual help of childcare, summer activities, and playdates. Some of your staff have care responsibilities for their own parents or partners, complicated by pandemic-era limitations. You may have staff members managing the stress of knowing that they are in a higher-risk category due to their age or a health condition. Staff who hold marginalized identities –
including those from Black and indigenous communities, other people of color, and those with disabilities –
carry the weight of the disproportionate impact of the virus on their communities.
Simply providing paid time off through your personnel policies and employment agreements is not likely to be enough. If you are a supervisor or a board member, here are some ways of being proactive:
- Ask your staff, "What support do you need in order to take your earned time away?"
- Find out if the staff load can be lightened over the summer by letting go of some staff-heavy activities or using volunteer support.
- Explore collaborating with another congregation on worship and other programming, as well as coverage for pastoral care or other emergencies.
- Have a conversation with lay and staff leaders about building in redundancies. Planning for staff to take time off will also help ensure that key responsibilities can be covered in the event of an unplanned absence, which is especially important during the pandemic.
Maybe you're thinking that this doesn't feel new, that you've already seen a lot of things from the UUA about taking care of ourselves and our staff. You're right –
and these are messages that bear repeating. Here are a few previously-published pieces from UUA staff about care and renewal for staff and others:
For anyone who is a parent (staff member or not), be sure to check out the excellent articles in the
Parenting During a Pandemic
section of LeaderLab.
During these difficult days, it is hard to set one's job aside when the work keeps going. In order to ensure that all UUA staff have the chance to rest and restore,
the UUA will be closed for the week of July 27 through 31.
(Individual offices, including the Office of Church Staff Finances, will provide coverage as needed to attend to time-sensitive matters.) This paid week off does not count against accrued vacation. We urge you to seek ways to enable your staff to set their responsibilities aside this summer, as well.
