Workplace wellness for frontline staff: Addressing burnout, moral injury, and lateral violence

Description: Workplace wellness is essential to the sustainability of healthcare, social service, and first response organizations. Yet frontline staff—both clinical and non-clinical—often face environments marked by high emotional demand, moral complexity, and strained peer relationships.

This interactive workshop offers a trauma-informed and anti-oppressive approach for both frontline workers and leadership to support worker wellness of client-facing roles. Grounded in evidence and frontline experience, it explores the emotional, physical, and moral toll of frontline work and equips participants with practical strategies to foster individual resilience, strengthen team cohesion, and promote psychologically safe workplaces.

Key topics include burnout, compassion fatigue, moral injury, and the rise of lateral violence and fractured workplace relationships. Participants will explore actionable tools to navigate conflict, address the growing impact of moral injury, and counter patterns of workplace bullying and the misuse of equity-based language that can erode trust and collaboration.

Learning objectives: 

• Understand core concepts and peer-reviewed theories related to burnout, moral injury, and lateral violence.
• Identify and apply practical strategies to build solidarity and resilience across diverse frontline teams.
• Recognize and respond to patterns of lateral violence and fractured workplace relationships.
• Navigate workplace conflict with greater confidence and a trauma-informed lens.
• Critically engage with emerging dynamics around the misuse of social justice language in organizational contexts.

Frontline professionals are facing rising levels of burnout, moral injury, and fractured team dynamics. This training offers practical tools to strengthen resilience, navigate workplace conflict, and build psychologically safe teams. With a focus on lateral violence and the misuse of equity language, it’s essential for anyone working in high-demand, client-facing environments.

Audio/visual recording disclaimer: Please note that this training will be recorded. We kindly ask that you please review the audio/visual consent form.

Ontario Psychological Association employees, members, associates and affiliates can use discount code OPA15 to receive 15% off all upcoming programs (cannot be used in conjunction with other promotions/discounts).