The staff of humanitarian and development organisations is exposed, through the course of their work, to higher levels of stress than employees in other fields of work. International Humanitarian and development workers often work abroad, and this work can take them to locations which are unsafe, or which are simply very different to their familiar cultural context. National humanitarian and development workers  are affected by the context themselves and might be even more vulnerable. They are often required to work with limited resources in a large population of beneficiaries, and this situation can lead to difficult decision making and a situation of great pressure. Long term stress of this nature can have serious mental health consequences. In conflict zones or situations of political instability, threats to physical security and integrity can arise, which can cause serious mental health consequences.

The healthy functioning of aid workers is not only of great importance to the individual, but also to the valuable work of the agencies themselves. It is therefore important that humanitarian and developmental organisations work within a framework which allows them to offer support to their employees. The Antares Foundation assists in the development of this framework. We take a holistic approach to stress management in organisations. We work at every level, from management to individual, to create a functional and sustainable system of staff support.