Every day, charity staff across our network sit with people at their most vulnerable. They manage crisis calls, home visits, bereavement support and the quiet weight of hearing hard stories, again and again. It is work that matters enormously, and work that takes a toll.
To better understand that toll, and what might help, ACO partnered with workplace mental health specialists Rightsteps on a sector-wide survey. We gathered 122 anonymous responses from frontline practitioners, advisers, operational staff, managers, senior leaders and CEOs across ACO member organisations. The results are now available in our full report, Insights from the Frontline: Understanding the Emotional Toll of Beneficiary Facing Roles in Charities.
What we found
Emotionally challenging interactions are a routine part of the job for most respondents. More than four in five said they experience them at least occasionally, and 13% face them every day. That exposure adds up: 84% reported at least one work-related wellbeing symptom, most commonly trouble sleeping, burnout or emotional exhaustion, physical health issues and anxiety.
Despite this, job satisfaction remains relatively high, with 64% rating their satisfaction 8 or above out of 10. Staff told us they manage the emotional demands mostly through informal means: talking to colleagues, friends and family, exercise, and taking breaks, rather than through structured organisational support.
That points to the report’s central finding. Almost three quarters of respondents had not accessed any organisational wellbeing or mental health support in the past 12 months, and 11% either did not know what was available or believed nothing existed. Among those who had used support, experiences were mixed. There is a real gap between the scale of need and the reach of formal support.
In their own words
One survey respondent, a frontline worker at an ACO member charity, put it simply:
“Working directly with beneficiaries is a key component of our job and of course impacts on emotional wellbeing. We experience a lot of loss as we work with older people and they die, but we also experience a lot of joy and laughter with our beneficiaries. It is very emotional work, all of it, whether it’s a simple grant application, a home visit to see a member, or supporting someone after a bereavement. We are in contact with members going through major life events, whether it’s major illness or family breakdown, and it is a privilege to be able to be there as a listening ear.”
What charities can do
The report sets out practical recommendations for charities looking to strengthen support for their frontline teams, including:
- Embedding wellbeing into everyday supervision, not treating it as a standalone initiative
- Strengthening line managers’ confidence and capability to have supportive conversations
- Formalising peer support and reflective practice
- Making existing support services easier to find and access
- Addressing workload and capacity pressures directly
- Measuring wellbeing proactively, not just relying on absence data
Read the full report
The full findings and recommendations are available to download now. If your organisation is thinking about how to better support frontline staff, we hope this gives you a useful starting point, and some practical next steps.
Download the full report here.
With thanks to Rightsteps for their partnership on this research, and to every member of staff who took the time to share their experience.