What helps professionals cope in conflict zones? New UoG study seeks answers
In parts of the world affected by conflict, professionals work in environments shaped by violence, uncertainty, and deep social complexity.
Whether facilitating dialogue, conducting research, supporting communities, providing humanitarian assistance or peacebuilding, these roles often involve navigating emotionally demanding situations where decisions carry ethical, psychological, and physical weight. In some settings, professionals also face direct risks including threats, kidnapping, injury, and death.
Yet, while these experiences are widely recognised, the practical knowledge people develop to navigate them is rarely captured in ways that genuinely support those doing this work in practice.
A new project from University of Gloucestershire, entitled GROUNDED, aims to change that by inviting professionals with experience of working in conflict-affected high-risk environments to take part in a short survey.
Its aim is to uncover what helps them remain effective and ethical in their work, and what enables them to stay psychologically grounded and keep going through the strain.
Led by Dr Dilshaad Bundhoo and Professor Kenny Lynch, the project comes at a time of increasing geopolitical instability and growing pressure on humanitarian, peacebuilding, and research sectors globally.
GROUNDED seeks to develop a more practical understanding of how people actually make difficult judgments in real time, sustain trust in fragile contexts, manage emotional pressure, and continue working through uncertainty, tension and rapid change without losing their sense of purpose or burning out.
The findings of the survey will inform wider learning and support for professionals working in conflict and crisis settings
Dr Bundhoo said: “We talk a lot about ‘resilience’, ‘dialogue’ and ‘best practice’ in the sector. But when you’re in the room – when tensions are high, trust is fragile, and every decision carries consequences – those concepts don’t tell you what to actually do.
“For example, a humanitarian worker who is threatened with violence has to decide on their response in the context of their mission objective, their concern for their safety and the humanitarian principle of ‘Do No Harm’.
“Our aim is to better understand what helps people navigate these situations in practice. When do you step in, and when do you hold back? How do you stay grounded under pressure and avoid burning out?”
Professor Lynch added: “These are highly stressful occupations with extreme physical and psychological risks. Every year, an average of 340 aid workers are killed while carrying out their work, 131 are kidnapped and 250 are wounded, the Aid Worker Security Database shows.
“But much of the practical knowledge professionals develop through their experience, to help them navigate extremely tough situations, often remains informal and undocumented.
“If your work involves navigating complexity, uncertainty, or emotionally demanding situations in conflict and crisis zones, we’d urge you to complete our survey. Your perspective could help people in similar situations across the globe.”
Dr Bundhoo and Professor Lynch believe that understanding how professionals manage complex situations under strain is not only important for individual wellbeing, but also for the effectiveness of international responses to crisis, and the resilience of the organisations and communities affected.
They encourage professionals working in areas such as humanitarian response, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, community engagement, human rights, development, journalism, field-based research, or related high-risk environments to take part in the survey.
Participation is anonymous, and the survey takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete. For those interested, there will also be opportunities to take part in follow-up conversations and a Delphi process, where participants can engage with emerging findings and contribute to shaping the project further.