Who are “national staff”?

Drs Debbie and David Hawker, Clinical Psychologists, United Kingdom

This module uses the term, “national staff” to refer to people working for humanitarian projects or NGOs within their own country. National staff are also known as “locally employed staff” (although some of them may come from the elsewhere in the country, and are not strictly ‘local’). Most humanitarian organizations have some personnel who are expatriates (foreigners) and others who are national staff.

National staff are people who work for humanitarian projects or NGOs within their own country.

National staff include all local personnel. They could be:

  • Full-time or part-time;
  • On short-term or long-term contracts;
  • Employed directly by your organization, or contracted or associate staff working with a partner organization;
  • Working in remote areas as field workers, or in head office;
  • Managers or team leaders;
  • Doctors, engineers, and other skilled professionals, or unskilled manual laborers;
  • Maintenance and logistics staff;
  • Drivers and guards;
  • Translators;
  • Secretaries; and
  • Cooks and cleaners.

Some national staff receive low wages, or are volunteers. Some are paid well compared to other people from their country. Some are illiterate. Some are well educated. Some are in jobs which are regarded as low status. Some have jobs which give them much responsibility over other staff. But all national staff are important, even if they are not directly working with beneficiaries. For example, a guard may be paid less than a manager, but their responsibilities are still very important in helping the entire organization function well and safely.

All national staff have an important role in helping the entire organization function well and safely, even if they are not directly working with beneficiaries.

What about staff from other developing countries who are not local?

Workers from a nearby country (e.g. Zambians working in Zimbabwe, or Costa Ricans working in Nicaragua) are officially expatriates, because they are not in their own country. However, they may feel they have more in common with national staff than they do with expatriates who come from a different continent such as Europe or North America. If you are one of these people, you may find most of the material in this module is relevant for you, although some of it may not apply. You are welcome to use as much of this material as you wish.

What about national staff in donor countries?

This module is written primarily for staff in nations which benefit from aid, rather than for staff in donor countries (for example, it is not aimed at British staff that are based in Britain). Those staff are welcome to read and use this module, but they may find the Understanding and coping with traumatic stress module, or another module produced by the Headington Institute, more helpful.

Why use the term “national staff”?

We recognize that you may not think of yourself and your colleagues as ‘national staff’. We cannot find a better phrase to describe all those we are writing for. If you can think of one, please contact us. As you read the module, you might prefer to replace the phrase ‘national staff’ with a phrase describing your nation and organization (e.g. ‘Afghans working for ICRC’).

Why should special support be provided for national staff?

Perhaps you are wondering why this module has been written. Why should national staff be singled out and treated differently from expatriates? Shouldn’t any information apply equally to expatriate and national staff?

We are not suggesting that national staff have more ‘problems’ than expatriates, or are less educated or incapable of using material written for expatriates. You are very welcome to use the other modules produced by the Headington Institute. But we do know that national staff face some unique pressures and rewards in their work. For example, national staff often face greater risks to their physical and psychological health than expatriates. Yet national staff are usually offered less support and attention than expatriates, before, during, and after an assignment.

Stress management programs often neglect different issues that national staff might face. This module contains much of the same material that we would teach to expatriates, plus some extra material especially for national staff.

Stop and think…

  1. Does the term “national staff” make sense to you? What other phrase would you use to describe your role?
  2. List other national staff that you work with in the organization who might benefit from the material in this module (e.g., think of those you come across in your work, or who work in the same team as you, or for whom you have responsibility).