It is important to manage the health and wellbeing of staff when moderating. Moderators can be impacted by the continual, and at times negative, nature of social media including the comment sections. To help ensure moderators are safe at work, teams should consider a holistic proactive approach to mental health and wellbeing.
The following practices should be implemented into your moderation work:
- Moderators should be allowed the opportunity to opt out of specific topics that they know or expect will be disturbing to them
- Built-in breaks – it is good practice to require moderators to take breaks every two hours to prevent prolonged exposure to the content in their workflow. It will also encourage them to interact socially with co-workers which is a known preventative measure for mental health and wellbeing
- Utilise managers for regular debriefing after exposure to disturbing content
- Encourage moderators to utilise the available EAP Support services
- Increase competencies of managers and team leaders in identifying signs of vicarious trauma and stress outcomes
- Train moderation staff in self-identifying signs of vicarious trauma and stress outcomes.
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