Papers, journals & case studies

Practice Insight 01 · Financial Services

Emerging Themes From Trauma-Informed Capability Building in Australian Financial Services

What are we hearing from the people supporting customers through vulnerability and financial distress?

Financial services professionals are increasingly supporting customers experiencing complex and challenging circumstances, including financial hardship, family and domestic violence, homelessness, grief, fraud and significant life disruption.

But there is another side to these conversations: the impact on the people having them.

This first publication in the TIPT Practice Insights Series explores themes emerging through trauma-informed capability building with people working across Australian financial services. It considers the emotional demands of this work, the potential impact on employee wellbeing and psychosocial safety, and an important question:

As we strengthen the way we support vulnerable customers, how do we also support the people doing that work?

Inside this Practice Insight

• Emotional exhaustion and the hidden load of customer-facing work
• The impact of repeated exposure to customer distress
• Guilt associated with stepping away or taking a break
• Emotional spill-over beyond the working day
• The protective role of teams, leaders and organisational systems
• Opportunities for trauma-informed capability building across financial services