ERD Reports and Publications
Surveys about Resilience, personal burnout, and organizational support during the Covid-19 pandemic
EUFASA’s Research Department conducted two anonymous online surveys of foreign service partners and spouses in December 2020 – February 2021 and in March – April 2022 to examine resilience, personal burnout, and organizational support during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gender and Identity in a Turbulent Space and Time: An Interview Study of Dual-Career Diplomatic Couples
The first output of this longitudinal qualitative study presents main results and sets the landscape of the dual-career couples in the FCDO. The results suggest that access to paid work and professional identity for both partners is important for the sense of balance in their relationship as a couple. Various dual-career models and strategies have been identified. This study is being conducted in cooperation with ESCP Business School London, King’s College London, Loughborough University London and Aarhus University.
Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Foreign Service partners: stress, burnout and MFA support
The ERD’s survey of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic from January 2021 found that levels of personal burnout among foreign service partners and spouses was very high, and resilience low; some measures of MFA support were found to be correlated with better outcomes.
Supporting diplomatic partners and spouses during a crisis – lessons from Covid-19
Based on the ERD’s 2020/2021 research on burnout and resilience among partners and spouses during the pandemic, EUFASA has produced a policy paper on how to support partners and spouses during crises.