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The problem of trauma that's "vicarious" or "indirect" has long been considered a personal one, but a new report warns employers to focus more on their systems, and place less emphasis on individual self-care.

The Winston Churchill Trust report, Mitigating Vicarious Trauma, says that while recent years have seen a growing awareness of the impact of vicarious trauma on individuals, "the broader implications for business sustainability, service quality and sector capacity remain underexamined".

Whether it's an intake worker at a domestic violence shelter hearing a story of violence, or a prosecutor viewing a brief of evidence, the impact of indirect trauma is often "considered solely at a personal and individual level, overlooking how symptoms manifest in the professional domain and affect the workplace", says the report's author, researcher Amy Nicholas...