Assessing the Emotional Impacts of Environmental Work

This survey is designed to understand better the emotional impacts of working in the environmental sector, and how to develop better support for these impacts.

It will take between 5 and 10 minutes to complete. All responses will be kept completely anonymous.

The survey is organised by Jo Musker-Sherwood, eco-distress writer, researcher, coach and consultant who you can contact at jo@climateemergence.co.uk. For more information about Jo's work on emotional resilience please take a look www.climateemergence.co.uk.

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* 1. How would you describe your role within the environmental sector? Please select the most relevant option.

Director/ CEO

Senior leadership

Administration/ Finance/ HR

Researcher

Marketing

Project Management

Fundraiser

Project Delivery

Intern

Voluntary coordinator

Consultant/ Coach/ Advisor

Grantmaker/ Funder

Artist

Journalism

Active in spare time

Interested but not active

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* 2. What gender do you identify as?

Female

Male

Non-binary

Prefer not to say

Other (please specify)

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* 3. How would you describe your ethnic origin?

White or Caucasian

Mixed or multiple ethnicities

Black, African, Caribbean or Black British

Asian or Asian British

Another ethnicity

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* 4. Where do you currently live?

United Kingdom

Europe

North America

South America

Africa

Asia

Oceana

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* 5. In less than 100 words, how would you define the term 'eco-anxiety'?

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* 6. On a scale of 1-100, how much eco-anxiety do you personally experience on a daily basis?

1- I do not feel at all anxious about climate change and environmental degredation

100- My day to day life is regularly impacted by my anxiety about climate change and environmental degredation

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 7. On a scale of 1-100, what is the highest level of eco-anxiety you have experienced over the past month?

0- No eco-anxiety

100- Extreme eco-axiety

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 8. Please answer on a scale of 1-5 how often you experience the following specifically as a result of your engagement with environmental issues...

	1- Never	2- Rarely	3- Sometimes	4- Often	5- Almost always
A sense of purpose and meaning	A sense of purpose and meaning 1- Never	A sense of purpose and meaning 2- Rarely	A sense of purpose and meaning 3- Sometimes	A sense of purpose and meaning 4- Often	A sense of purpose and meaning 5- Almost always
Deep motivation for my work	Deep motivation for my work 1- Never	Deep motivation for my work 2- Rarely	Deep motivation for my work 3- Sometimes	Deep motivation for my work 4- Often	Deep motivation for my work 5- Almost always
Connection to others I work with	Connection to others I work with 1- Never	Connection to others I work with 2- Rarely	Connection to others I work with 3- Sometimes	Connection to others I work with 4- Often	Connection to others I work with 5- Almost always
Connection to nature	Connection to nature 1- Never	Connection to nature 2- Rarely	Connection to nature 3- Sometimes	Connection to nature 4- Often	Connection to nature 5- Almost always
Fun, play and creativity	Fun, play and creativity 1- Never	Fun, play and creativity 2- Rarely	Fun, play and creativity 3- Sometimes	Fun, play and creativity 4- Often	Fun, play and creativity 5- Almost always
Confidence in the work I do	Confidence in the work I do 1- Never	Confidence in the work I do 2- Rarely	Confidence in the work I do 3- Sometimes	Confidence in the work I do 4- Often	Confidence in the work I do 5- Almost always
Job satisfaction	Job satisfaction 1- Never	Job satisfaction 2- Rarely	Job satisfaction 3- Sometimes	Job satisfaction 4- Often	Job satisfaction 5- Almost always
Alleviation of eco-anxiety and/ or eco-despair	Alleviation of eco-anxiety and/ or eco-despair 1- Never	Alleviation of eco-anxiety and/ or eco-despair 2- Rarely	Alleviation of eco-anxiety and/ or eco-despair 3- Sometimes	Alleviation of eco-anxiety and/ or eco-despair 4- Often	Alleviation of eco-anxiety and/ or eco-despair 5- Almost always
Alleviation of eco-guilt	Alleviation of eco-guilt 1- Never	Alleviation of eco-guilt 2- Rarely	Alleviation of eco-guilt 3- Sometimes	Alleviation of eco-guilt 4- Often	Alleviation of eco-guilt 5- Almost always
The opportunity to live in alignment with my values	The opportunity to live in alignment with my values 1- Never	The opportunity to live in alignment with my values 2- Rarely	The opportunity to live in alignment with my values 3- Sometimes	The opportunity to live in alignment with my values 4- Often	The opportunity to live in alignment with my values 5- Almost always

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* 9. Please answer on a scale of 1-5 how often you experience the following as a result of your engagement with environmental issues...

	Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Often	Almost always
Intrusive thoughts about climate change	Intrusive thoughts about climate change Never	Intrusive thoughts about climate change Rarely	Intrusive thoughts about climate change Sometimes	Intrusive thoughts about climate change Often	Intrusive thoughts about climate change Almost always
Anger/ frustration	Anger/ frustration Never	Anger/ frustration Rarely	Anger/ frustration Sometimes	Anger/ frustration Often	Anger/ frustration Almost always
Grief (e.g. sadness or crying)	Grief (e.g. sadness or crying) Never	Grief (e.g. sadness or crying) Rarely	Grief (e.g. sadness or crying) Sometimes	Grief (e.g. sadness or crying) Often	Grief (e.g. sadness or crying) Almost always
Confusion/ disorientation/ information overwhelm	Confusion/ disorientation/ information overwhelm Never	Confusion/ disorientation/ information overwhelm Rarely	Confusion/ disorientation/ information overwhelm Sometimes	Confusion/ disorientation/ information overwhelm Often	Confusion/ disorientation/ information overwhelm Almost always
Despair- feelings of isolation or helplessness	Despair- feelings of isolation or helplessness Never	Despair- feelings of isolation or helplessness Rarely	Despair- feelings of isolation or helplessness Sometimes	Despair- feelings of isolation or helplessness Often	Despair- feelings of isolation or helplessness Almost always
Overworking (e.g. not enough time for yourself or with friends/ family)	Overworking (e.g. not enough time for yourself or with friends/ family) Never	Overworking (e.g. not enough time for yourself or with friends/ family) Rarely	Overworking (e.g. not enough time for yourself or with friends/ family) Sometimes	Overworking (e.g. not enough time for yourself or with friends/ family) Often	Overworking (e.g. not enough time for yourself or with friends/ family) Almost always
Procrastination and/ or difficulties concentrating	Procrastination and/ or difficulties concentrating Never	Procrastination and/ or difficulties concentrating Rarely	Procrastination and/ or difficulties concentrating Sometimes	Procrastination and/ or difficulties concentrating Often	Procrastination and/ or difficulties concentrating Almost always
Conflict with others about climate change and/ or feeling isolated	Conflict with others about climate change and/ or feeling isolated Never	Conflict with others about climate change and/ or feeling isolated Rarely	Conflict with others about climate change and/ or feeling isolated Sometimes	Conflict with others about climate change and/ or feeling isolated Often	Conflict with others about climate change and/ or feeling isolated Almost always
Fatigue and/ or symptoms of burnout	Fatigue and/ or symptoms of burnout Never	Fatigue and/ or symptoms of burnout Rarely	Fatigue and/ or symptoms of burnout Sometimes	Fatigue and/ or symptoms of burnout Often	Fatigue and/ or symptoms of burnout Almost always
Disrupted sleep	Disrupted sleep Never	Disrupted sleep Rarely	Disrupted sleep Sometimes	Disrupted sleep Often	Disrupted sleep Almost always
Questioning or feeling guilty how your response to climate change	Questioning or feeling guilty how your response to climate change Never	Questioning or feeling guilty how your response to climate change Rarely	Questioning or feeling guilty how your response to climate change Sometimes	Questioning or feeling guilty how your response to climate change Often	Questioning or feeling guilty how your response to climate change Almost always

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* 10. Are there are emotional impacts specific to working in the environmental sector that have not been listed? If yes, please specify.

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* 11. Have you developed any personal strategies to manage the impacts of working in an environmental organisation, and if so, what are they?

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* 12. If you are part of an organisation, have any steps been taken by your organisation to manage the challenging impacts of this work, and if so, what are they?

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* 13. Is there anything your organisation, and/ or the sector at large, could do to help mitigate the emotional impacts of working on environmental issues, and if so, what are they?