FY21-Q3 Report: USAID Staff Care Services Center

The ongoing pandemic and grief and loss due to COVID-19 deaths, as well as chronic stress and anxieties about teleworking and transitioning back to offices and posts, work-related stressors and burnout, the ongoing Transformation, and constant organizational change and uncertainty, contributed to an increase in demand for almost all services. SCSC staff conducted 31 webinars for 766 staff and family members on 16 topics, including decisions and the brain, managing stress, resilience practices, leadership development, healthy hydration, healthy living, financial wellness, parenting and caregiver support, and resilience during VUCA. In addition, SCSC provided EAP support, organizational resilience engagements, resilience training, and Staff Care overviews for 1,542 staff in 20 Missions, including the Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA) and Central Asia Regional Program. The requests for Staff Care support were to help Mission staff who were suffering from grief and loss due to the deaths of loved ones from COVID-19, chronic stress and burnout from a difficult past year and a half, and to strengthen team cohesion and relationships during a challenging time. SCSC provided organizational resilience support to 211 staff in 6 Washington teams in Asia Bureau, BHA, EGEE, and M Bureau to strengthen team cohesion and leadership effectiveness amidst COVID-19, the ongoing Transformation, and chronic change and uncertainty. The number of new counseling clients jumped 22% compared to Q2, supporting 183 new individuals/couples in 208 cases to address emotional health, family/relationship concerns, adjustment/change, and work concerns. The new counseling clients in Q3 was 73% higher than for the 3rd quarter of FY20 and was the highest number of new clients of any quarter in the history of Staff Care. Furthermore, while the majority of new clients were based in the US (62%), the remaining 38% were from 42 Missions around the world. SCSC also provided resilience training and education for 351 staff in 11 teams/groups in Africa Bureau, Asia/OAPA, BHA, DDI, M Bureau, OSDBU, the Mentoring Program, Muslim ERG, and 7 manager consultations. Two hundred seventy (270) staff in 43 Missions and the U.S. continue to utilize the customized Staff Care Resilience Toolkit on the DisasterReady.org website, including 1 newly registered employee in Q3. Eight hundred forty-nine (854) staff attended an estimated 453 virtual fitness classes. SCSC's work-life services supported 87 individuals through workshops, coaching, consultations, and referrals to address legal and financial issues, dependent care, and work and life effectiveness. The Parent Encouragement Program (PEP) has 428 participants in 47 Missions and the U.S., including 96 new participants in Q3, who enrolled in 182 courses during April-June. The Caregiver Employee Action Network (CAN) program has had 342 unique users in 25 Missions and the U.S., including 133 new users in Q3. SCSC EAP counseling and Work-Life referral services resulted in an estimated 255 work days saved, valued at $83,236. A majority of evaluation survey respondents report that SCSC services helped improve individual and team performance, stress, resilience, well-being, job satisfaction, morale, and commitment to USAID. An average of 95% of individuals who completed an evaluation survey were satisfied with the service they received and 97% were satisfied with SCSC counselors/facilitators/trainers providing services. A notable trend in Q3 is that Missions, Bureaus, and other teams are availing themselves of more than one SCSC service as they get to know how Staff Care can help them. For example, the OR team has been working with BHA for over a year. This year, as they work with individual offices within BHA and describe other Staff Care services to them, those offices then requested support for mental health, resilience training, or wellness services. The top 5 common concerns for counseling clients were emotional health, legal issues, family/relationship concerns, daily living, and adjustment/change. The top 5 common concerns for work-life clients were emotional health, legal issues, family/relationship concerns, daily living, and workplace concerns. Key themes for Mission/Washington engagements included high stress, grief and loss, uncertainty, and pandemic fatigue due to COVID-19, especially among FSNs, challenges with team cohesion, communication and leadership effectiveness while working virtually, anxiety about Agency's Transformation and how it will affect individuals, teams, and workplace culture, and anxiety and uncertainty about organizational changes and transitioning back into physical offices.