Say What, Professional Quality of Life? What’s That?!

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I recently attended a webinar in which the presenter discussed the Professional Quality of Life Scale. The ProQOL comprises thirty Likert scaling questions that measure three domains: compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. The ProQOL is specifically designed for those in the helping profession. 

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines the helping profession as a career that provides health and education services to individuals and groups. I fall into this group based on the mental health counseling I provide as a Social Worker.

Let’s explore the three domains measured by the ProQOL. As per the ProQOL’s website:

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Compassion satisfaction is defined as “the pleasure you derive from being able to do your work well. For example, you may feel like it is a pleasure to help others through your work. You may feel positively about your colleagues or your ability to contribute to the work setting or even the greater good of society.”

Burnout is described as “one of the elements of Compassion Fatigue (CF). It is associated with feelings of hopelessness and difficulties in dealing with work or in doing your job effectively. These negative feelings usually have a gradual onset. They can reflect the feeling that your efforts make no difference, or they can be associated with a very high workload or a non-supportive work environment.”

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I’d never heard of the ProQOL until that point and was instantly fascinated to see how I’d score on these three domains. I was also curious as I’d been struggling with a lack of inspiration and wanted to know if my work was a contributing factor.

Below are my scores.

Compassion Satisfaction: 41 (High)

Burnout: 21 (Low)

Secondary Traumatic Stress: 12 (Low)

I must say that I was not surprised by my results. I don’t particularly feel stressed by my work.

Why? I’m not entirely sure, but I can’t help but think prioritizing balance goes a long way for me. I have developed an excellent work practice for myself, and I take my pre and post-work regimes seriously. I have learned to be very clear on my needs.

I am infamous for readjusting what balance looks and feels like, as it may change from day-to-day or even moment-to-moment. But there are two things I do before seeing clients for the day;

I dedicate between 30 to 60 minutes to this intentional work. And I do the same after seeing clients. This practice spawned out of necessity. There was a point in time in which I found myself flustered by continually hearing and holding space for the struggles and pains of others. Insert shameless plug on the importance of developing a self-reflection / self-awareness practice. Seriously, there are benefits to learning yourself. I learned that I needed to mentally and physically prepare for my work with clients. I am not able to jump in and out of this type of work.

Nonetheless, I found the ProQOL helpful. It was important for me to check in with myself with the aide of a scaling tool to ensure that my feelings and experiences were in line with my perception. It was also important for me to establish a baseline. I will certainly return to this tool from time to time to assess my needs. If you’re in the helping profession, I highly recommend you keep this nifty tool handy. 

As for my lack of inspiration, I’ve made some gains. I’ve had to relearn my understanding of what it means to be still. I will share in a separate post.