Further innovative approaches are needed to find effective ways to improve the wellbeing of people working in frontline roles in homelessness, a study has recommended. 

The study involved sending support messages to frontline workers to test whether these would reduce risks of burnout and improve their wellbeing by increasing feelings of belonging, connectedness and professional identity.

It used an approach that has been shown to have a positive impact when trialled with emails containing support messages to emergency service call handlers in cities in the United States. 

When similar messages were sent to frontline homelessness workers in the UK, however, the study found no significant lasting effects on reducing burnout, and a moderate short-term improvement among staff appeared only to be temporary.  

Researchers concluded that one of the key reasons this model of support delivered by emails was less effective in enhancing wellbeing among frontline UK homelessness staff was the high volumes of work-based emails that many receive.

Light touch interventions like these may not be enough to ‘move the dial’ on wellbeing in the UK homelessness sector. While targeted interventions may offer some benefit, the results underscore the need to design support that acknowledges the reality of frontline roles, including high workloads and limited time. Improving wellbeing among frontline workers may also require broader organisational and policy-level change, the researchers said. 

This project was conducted in partnership with St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity, which runs the Frontline Network that supports people working in client-facing roles in homelessness, the Centre for Homelessness Impact, and researchers at Exogeneity, a social purpose consultancy, and the London School of Economics. 

Earlier stages of the project were conducted by the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, which has since closed.

Ligia Teixeira, Chief Executive of the Centre for Homelessness Impact, said: “Even though this approach did not show positive impact, trials like this are critically important as they tell us what doesn’t work, so we don’t invest in those ideas - and can stop interventions that are in use that are shown not to work.

“We will continue with this work. We want to test multiple new approaches to improving the wellbeing of frontline workers in homelessness. We need better evidence of what works to support staff in their work so that they can thrive and be at their best to improve the lives of people at risk and experiencing homelessness.” 

Duncan Shrubsole, Chief Executive Officer at St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity, said: “Frontline workers are essential to tackling and preventing homelessness – they are central to the journey of every individual out of or away from homelessness and to delivering homelessness services and support and making an ever more challenging system work. At St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity through our own services and working with our Frontline Network partners across the UK, we work to provide practical support and to champion the role, value and challenges facing frontline workers. And our annual survey consistently captures the challenges frontline workers are facing are growing and the impact it is having on their own wellbeing and welfare. 

“We will continue to explore what more we can do to support frontline worker wellbeing and to actively champion that this is a priority for government, providers, funders and commissioners.” 

There is very little evidence on what works to reduce burnout in frontline workers in the homelessness sector in the UK. Using social support messages sent via email was one of the approaches identified from peer-reviewed studies of interventions that can reduce burnout in frontline workers primarily in the health sector.

The trial, conducted in 2024, recruited 415 frontline staff from the UK homelessness sector, of whom half were randomised and received weekly emails over a period of six weeks. These emails discussed a chosen theme of social support and belongingness in the workplace and shared a story from frontline workers doing similar roles. 

Participants were asked to fill in short surveys at the start, after 6 weeks and again after 24 weeks asking about their feelings of burnout, positive or negative feelings, whether they felt supported, connectedness, belonging and if they felt worthwhile and satisfied with life.

Results were compared with those from a control group who did not receive the emails and who also were also asked to complete the surveys.

In addition to a short-term improvement in feelings of burnout among staff who received the emails, which was not sustained, the findings did show a statistically significant increase in the sense of belonging at work among frontline staff. 

But this was offset by slight falls, too small to be statistically significant, in the sense of connectedness and social support. There were also small drops, again not statistically significant, in their life satisfaction, worthwhileness, and mental health scores. 

When taken together, the findings suggested a limited and inconsistent impact on wellbeing outcomes.

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