Abstract
COVID-19 presented a difficult environment for care workers, including clergy, as they sought to address human needs within an often-contentious culture. Unique tasks heightened counseling responsibilities, and management of strained relationships introduced new or enhanced stressors into their jobs. Care worker stressors can lead to compassion fatigue. This study aimed to examine clergy’s unique tasks and stressors during COVID-19 to ascertain causal paths toward compassion fatigue. The results of the structural equation analysis demonstrated role and occupational stressors fully mediated the path from tasks to compassion fatigue. The indication was that it was not administrative tasks (e.g., accommodating health measures, adapting the delivery of ministry) nor care tasks (e.g., providing support and counseling to family and patients of COVID-19 victims) that directly caused compassion fatigue; rather, it was the criticism, conflict, and relationship stressors encountered during the ministry that led to compassion fatigue. Implications and recommendations for clergy and administrative development to mitigate and manage role stress and clergy occupational distress are presented. Overall, the study provides insight into the mechanisms by which clergy job demands during COVID-19 led to compassion fatigue, pointing to stressors as the key mediating factors.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ashforth, B. E., & Kreiner, G. E. (1999). “How can you do it?”: Dirty work and the challenge of constructing a positive identity. Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 413–434.
Benton, A. L., & Girdley, A. P. (2023). Clergy and compassionate leadership: a tightrope of fatigue and satisfaction during COVID-19. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 51(4), 509–522.
Church Salary. (n.d.). The impact of COVID-19 on the American church. https://pages.churchsalary.com/covidstudy
Clarke, M., Spurr, S., & Walker, K. (2022). The well-being and resilience of Canadian Christian clergy. Pastoral Psychology, 71, 597–613. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-022-01023-1
Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499–512.
Edmond, N., & Price, M. (2009). Workforce re-modelling and pastoral care in schools: a diversification of roles or a de-professionalisation of functions? Pastoral Care in Education, 27(4), 301–311.
Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC). (2021). Navigating the pandemic: A first look at congregational responses. Retrieved January 2024, from https://www.covidreligionresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Navigating-the-Pandemic_A-First-Look-at-Congregational-Responses_Nov-2021.pdf
Faucett, J. M., Corwyn, R. F., & Poling, T. H. (2013). Clergy role stress: Interactive effects of role ambiguity and role conflict on intrinsic job satisfaction. Pastoral Psychology, 62, 291–304.
Figley, C. R. (1995). Compassion fatigue: Toward a new understanding of the costs of caring. In B. H. Stamm (Ed.), Secondary traumatic stress: Self-care issues for clinicians, researchers, and educators (pp. 3–28). Sidran Press.
Frenk, S. M., Mustillo, S. A., Hooten, E. G., & Meador, K. G. (2013). The Clergy Occupational Distress Index (CODI): Background and findings from two samples of clergy. Journal of Religion and Health, 52(2), 397–407. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-011-9486-4
Gall, T. L. (2000). Integrating religious resources within a general model of stress and co**: Long-term adjustment to breast cancer. Journal of Religion and Health, 39, 167–182.
Ganiel, G. (2021). Online opportunities in secularizing societies? Clergy and the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. Religions, 12(6), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12060437
Gnani, E. (2013). I conflitti di ruolo nel ministero [Role conflicts in the ministry]. Tredimensioni, 10, 89–98.
Grudem, E. (2016). Pour it out: God doesn’t intend pastors to burn out. There’s a Better Way. Leadership, 37, 32–36.
Johnston, E. F., Eagle, D. E., Headley, J., & Holleman, A. (2022). Pastoral ministry in unsettled times: a qualitative study of the experiences of clergy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Review of Religious Research, 64(2), 375–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-021-00465-y
Kemery, E. R. (2006). Clergy role stress and satisfaction: Role ambiguity isn’t always bad. Pastoral Psychology, 54, 561–570.
Louw, D. J. (2015). Wholeness in hope care: On nurturing the beauty of the human soul in spiritual healing (Vol. 3). LIT Verlag Münster.
McMurray, R., & Ward, J. (2014). ‘Why would you want to do that?’: Defining emotional dirty work. Human Relations, 67(9), 1123–1143. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726714525975
Miller, J. A., & Glanz, J. L. (2021). The personal experiences of pastoral leaders during the COVID-19 quarantine. Christian Education Journal, 18(3), 500–518. https://doi.org/10.1177/07398913211048909
Osei-Tutu, A., Affram, A. A., Mensah-Sarbah, C., Dzokoto, V. A., & Adams, G. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 and religious restrictions on the well-being of Ghanaian Christians: The perspectives of religious leaders. Journal of Religion and Health, 60(4), 2232–2249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01285-8
Proeschold-Bell, R. J., Eisenberg, A., Adams, C., Smith, B., Legrand, S., & Wilk, A. (2015). The glory of God is a human being fully alive: Predictors of positive versus negative mental health among clergy. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 54(4), 702–721.
Rizzo, J. R., House, R. J., & Lirtzman, S. I. (1970). Role conflict and ambiguity in complex organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 15(2), 150–163.
Rogers, R. C., & Tinsley, T. M. (2023). Black pastors’ experiences of occupational and life stress during COVID-19 in the USA. Journal of Religion and Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-023-01901-9
Stamm, B. H. (2012). Hel** the helpers: Compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in self-care, management, and policy of suicide prevention hotlines. In A. D. Kirkwood & B. H. Stamm (Eds.), Resources for community suicide prevention (pp. 1–4). Idaho State University.
Van den Broeck, A., De Cuyper, N., De Witte, H., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2010). Not all job demands are equal: Differentiating job hindrances and job challenges in the job demands–resources model. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 19(6), 735–759. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320903223839
Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2021a). Churches and faith: Attitude towards church buildings during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown among churchgoers in England. Ecclesial Practices, 8(2), 216–232. https://doi.org/10.1163/22144471-bja10025
Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2021b). Sha** attitudes toward church in a time of coronavirus: Exploring the effects of personal, psychological, social, and theological factors among Church of England clergy and laity. Journal of Empirical Theology, 34(1), 102–128. https://doi.org/10.1163/15709256-12341423
Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2022). How did the psychological well-being of Church of England clergy and laity change from the first to the third national COVID-19 lockdowns? Pastoral Psychology, 71(5), 653–666. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-022-01017-z
Wells, C. R. (2013). The effects of work-related and boundary-related stress on the emotional and physical health status of ordained clergy. Pastoral Psychology, 62, 101–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-013-0522-z
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Girdley, A.P., Benton, A.L. The Devil Is in the Details: How Clergy Tasks Became Stressors During COVID-19. Pastoral Psychol 73, 395–406 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-024-01132-z
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-024-01132-z