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

Build resilience, reduce burnout, and strengthen workplace culture in high-demand client-facing environments.

This training is suitable for:

• Mental Health Professionals: psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists, social workers.
• Medical Professionals: nurses, psychiatrists, pediatricians, family doctors.
• Direct Service Workers: drop-in workers, shelter and hostel workers, child and youth workers, youth justice workers.

Client category: Professionals working with clients of all ages.

Level of training: Introductory

Workplace wellness overview

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. In this workplace wellness training, 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.

“Frontline healthcare and social service teams are increasingly at risk of internal conflict resulting from the stress of burn out, traumatic work and moral injury, This training provides strategies for managers and directors supporting at-risk staff and teams to improve working relationships, sustainability, and quality of our work.” Juno Zavitz.

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 carrying a heavy emotional and moral load—often without adequate support. Rising levels of burnout, moral injury, and fractured team dynamics are making it harder to sustain safe, collaborative workplaces.

This essential training offers trauma-informed, practical tools to strengthen resilience, navigate conflict, and restore trust. With a focus on lateral violence and the misuse of equity language, it’s vital for anyone working in high-demand, client-facing environments.

Don’t wait—register now and invest in your and your team’s wellness and sustainability.

Upon registration, participants will receive a confirmation email that includes access information to our on-demand training platform, SickKids Academy Online. Participants will have access for 90 days from the date they begin the course on SickKids Academy Online. Following the training, participants are required to complete a quiz to receive the Certificate of Participation.

This program was originally recorded on October 9, 2025.

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