MINISTRY SUPPORT

Church Worker Wellbeing Survey

Summary of 2022 Survey Findings

This video with Dr Chris Materne and Dr Nigel Long begins to unpack the Church Worker Wellbeing Report and focusses on three key takeaway messages from the 2022 survey:

Meeting the Department of Health exercise guidelines is likely to be good for physical and psychological health.
Establishing reasonable workload expectations, engaging in self-care and positive social connections is likely to support vocational and overall wellbeing.
In the face of overwhelming challenges our spiritual wellbeing and growth remain high.

If anything in this video or the following text raises issues that cause you distress, please reach out to someone who can support you and/or talk through your concerns with you.

About the survey

In 2022 church workers (pastors, lay workers, and other employee) identified that their parish work or other service to the church was the most satisfying aspect of their work closely followed by community engagement. Also strongly reported was the mission and outreach nature of their work along with offering support to others.

Sadly, there appears to have been an increase in the incidence of poorer psychological wellbeing, especially for females, when comparing scores from 2021 to 2022. Women also report an increased perception of effort (at work) exceeding rewards compared to men. On the other hand, women tended to express greater satisfaction with their personal relationships than men.

Across all church workers there is a tendency to work long hours. This impacts wellbeing at work and at home with many church workers reporting that their workload or lack of time off impacted their ability to engage in practices to manage their wellbeing.

Church workers engaged in a wide range of self-care activities to support their wellbeing. The most frequently mentioned activities were spending time with family, spouse or friends followed by exercise, (watching or playing) sport, and prayer, meditation or devotions.

The LCANZ leaders truly value the participation of the 181 church workers who took part in the 2022 survey and thank them for their commitment in completing the survey to help paint a picture of wellbeing across the church.

A commitment to wellbeing of church workers requires the whole church walking together with all entities considering their local environment, individuals considering their own situation, and the wider church reviewing structures and other processes.

The Church Worker Wellbeing Survey for 2023 has now closed. The data is being analysed by the team at Australian Lutheran College. When the report is finalised the results will be shared across the church.