26 JULY AUGUST 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Well before Dr. Murthy issued his framework, USAID leaders understood the significant role of the workplace in shaping the mental and physical well-being necessary for effective, productive work. Driven by various executive orders, congressional legislation, and federal regulations, USAID established the Staff Care program in 2012 to provide an array of stress-mitigating services that improve the mental health and well-being of its workforce while helping the agency achieve its foreign policy goals. Staff Care’s suite of programs centers on supporting an environment where the workforce feels valued, each employee’s physical and mental well-being is bolstered, and a healthy balance between work and life responsibilities is maintained. Today, USAID is recognized as having one of the top staff care programs in the federal government, one that exceeds governmentwide benchmarks for employee engagement and satisfaction. In the 2021 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), for example, 78 percent of USAID’s employees said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the agency’s health and wellness programs, compared with 64 percent in other U.S. government agencies. In that same survey, USAID employees reported health and wellness program utilization rates at 10 percentage points above the governmentwide average. Given the intense nature of USAID’s humanitarian and development assistance work around the world and the stress of living and working in high-threat areas, USAID will continue to strategically invest in employee assistance, work-life balance, wellness, and organizational resilience programs to ensure the well-being of its employees and the effectiveness of its work. Challenges for FS Employees FS employees face mental health challenges due to their unique work and lifestyle. These challenges affect not only individual mental health but also the health of the agency. USAID FS employees serve in complex and difficult posts, including conflict-prone areas such as Somalia and South Sudan and high-threat/high-crime posts such as El Salvador and Bangladesh. They face the ever-present threat of authorized and ordered departures around the globe, including in Haiti, Niger, and Ukraine. And many are still coping with the effects of the COVID19 pandemic. These stressors are in addition to what regular Americans face in their daily lives as they struggle to find a balance between job demands and the needs of their immediate and extended families. Multiple deployments and frequent moves, exposure to threats, unprecedented workloads, accelerated promotions, separations from family, inadequate rest, and gaps in mental health support affect individual mental well-being. Balancing life overseas and back home (wherever home may be) creates another challenge for FS employees as they manage the emotional toll of living away from family and friends while fulfilling diplomatic duties. The turmoil of managing professional responsibilities and personal relationships can result in feelings of guilt, loneliness, and disconnection, which then affect overall mental health. The constant need to adapt to new environments and cultures, form new relationships, and build new networks of support can be emotionally draining. If the post is in a high-threat region, FS employees often find themselves in stressful situations, facing real or perceived security risks, which result in trauma-related issues. Ordered departures are traumatic for staff and their families. The AFSA Mental Health Survey In March 2024, AFSA teamed with USAID Staff Care to survey USAID members, exploring their current views on stress and mental health. The survey gathered both quantitative and qualitative data on the impact of stressors external to the workplace (environmental factors) and internal stressors within the USAID workplace. The response rate was 17.5 percent (280 out of an estimated 1,600 active USAID AFSA members). Top-ranked external stressors included: working in a highthreat/high-crime post (64 percent), working in a conflict-prone area (54 percent), and experiencing traumatic events at post (45 percent). Respondents said terrorist attacks, accidents, violent incidents, or personal threats have had lasting effects on their mental health, citing anxiety, PTSD-like symptoms, difficulty coping, and fear for family members’ safety. Internal stressors were named with even greater frequency. Respondents cited excessive workload (80 percent), lack of leadership/management support (74 percent), long work hours (69 percent), and relationship difficulties with supervisors (49 percent). Many described “toxic” work environments that were related to anxiety, depression, panic attacks, mood swings, sleep disturbances, and emotional dysregulation. USAID will continue to strategically invest in employee assistance, work-life balance, wellness, and organizational resilience programs.
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