Some Rest for the Weary? A Qualitative Analysis of Clergy Methods for Managing Demands

In many ways, clergy (i.e., religious leaders including pastors, ministers) are a high-risk population. In their efforts to ensure the spiritual well-being of their congregations, clergy may neglect their own well-being and be unaware of the potentially detrimental effects that their work has on their health. The purpose of this study was to add to the growing knowledge base about how clergy perceive the relationship between their work and their well-being, the strategies they use to recover from their work, and the ways they balance work and nonwork areas of their lives. This qualitative study explores these areas to further understand the nature of clergy work and recovery from work. Clergy (N = 332) were asked to respond to a set of open-ended prompts related to their perceptions of work interference with health, and strategies at and outside of work they use to manage work and nonwork demands. The present study sheds light on recovery strategies (i.e., self-care practices) and practices clergy may use to successfully manage demands in the work and nonwork areas of their lives. Specifically, prioritizing, personal time (e.g., time spent in hobbies), and physical activities emerged as common strategies and practices. Our results have the potential to guide researchers in how to design interventions aimed at assisting individuals in this at-risk population.