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Contracts and uncertainty:

Short-term employment contracts that characterise recovery work are commonly a source of uncertainty and strain for staff. Short-term contracts also define the way an organisation views and invests in its staff: being less likely to prioritise professional development and more likely to impose timeframes driven by the contract term rather than what is most feasible in terms of workload.

If you are working as a case-worker in recovery, your job is technically time limited so you are essentially working yourself out of a job. That is pretty crazy-making, especially because you never know when the funding stream may stop. Working in that scenario every day brings significant financial stress with it. Christie Wrightson - American Red Cross

My contract finishes in August. I worry. I worry while I am helping others. Wat next for me and my family? My son is six years old. I need a good job so I have money for his education. Teiichiro Yotsukura - Japan

There is regular training for permanent staff only. Teiichiro Yotsukura – Japan

The length of contracts. If you go into a piece of work thinking this is a permanent job you approach it in a different manner, not in a 'response' frame of mind where you work in an unsustainable way. That would help. We are not realistic about the time scale of recovery. The commitment should be two to three years or three to four years of life, not one to two. Otherwise you are over-optimistic as to when things will finish and move on without completion and you miss a sense of achievement. If contracts are either ended or renegotiated after a year you don't get the opportunity for appraisal, support and development. Ted Tuthill – British Red Cross