Burnout across the healthcare industry is at a crisis level, with no signs that it will improve soon. Despite a slight decline in the number of physicians reporting at least one burnout symptoms during the pandemic, it remained nearly 50%.
For all discussions on this issue, the industry has been working to make outstanding progress. But there is a solution. Working with large companies in the field and smaller practices, I started to see very different steps.
The key is to adopt the fundamentals of a health culture in a way that meets the unique challenges and needs of healthcare workers.
Overall health
One key is to put aside the idea of well-being just about exercise, mental health therapy, and stress relief activities like meditation.
It should be clear that all of this matters. The most stressed job list recently includes surgeons, anesthesiologists and doctors, as well as medical assistants, ultrasound doctors and nurses.
But health is more comprehensive. The researchers concluded that there are eight different dimensions: occupation, physical, emotional, social, financial, intellectual, spiritual and environmental. To help promote the health of any workforce, employers should provide resources to help people improve in all these ways.
This can be very influential. For example, a recent study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion found that “relationships and social connections” are one of the most valuable forms of health care providers and students value. Providers ranked it behind third place and after emotional health; students ranked second among emotional health after emotional health.
Promoting an environment where people can build meaningful connections can be of great help in improving social well-being. Sometimes people choose to do sports together, covering multiple dimensions at the same time.
Possible flexibility
Another important step is to embrace a new era of workplace flexibility. This can be done without sacrificing patient care. For example, many administrative tasks can be completed during off-hours without sacrificing HIPAA compliance.
People feel better about the job when they have the flexibility to choose when and where to complete certain tasks. The vast majority say flexibility can also improve their mental health and reduce stress.
This benefit also enables them to include healthy activities in the era that suits them best. When people are able to choose the time of day and the type of activity they are engaged in, they can see better results and are more likely to be consistent.
A culture based on trust
Flexibility and a wide variety of resources are only useful if employees think they can use these opportunities. They are unlikely to do so when they are worried that their workplace may exercise during typical working hours or meet with a financial advisor.
The same goes for completing their administrative work. If healthcare professionals think that if others see them doing this, they will only “calculate”, then it’s unlikely that they will take care of it in a more convenient time.
That’s why turning all of this potential into real change requires a culture based on trust. Research has shown that trust is crucial to improving health care services. A study published in the journal Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine in November found that “a good team leader develops a workplace culture of trust, collaboration and transparency while keeping everyone accountable for their actions.”
This culture should be extended to all aspects of the work and to all people. A recent study examines non-patient staff in the health system. It found that during the common pandemic, when they were trusted to work from home, some found that their work was healthier and less stressful. The study found: “A non-target assistant said that when employees start working remotely, the environment loses the anxiety, oppressiveness, strict “energy.”
These steps can prove transformative. When the department’s organization implements these changes, they see concrete results and create an environment where top healthcare professionals want to work.
Photo: Zhaojiankang, Getty Images
Livia Martini is a passionate person who serves as the chief figure at WellHub. With extensive experience in human management and financial operations, Livia ensures that WellHub achieves its mission internally by promoting a culture of welfare for its global team of more than 2,000 employees worldwide. Prior to joining WellHub, Livia worked at McKinsey and Santander in Brazil. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is passionate about tennis and nutrition and has recently found joy in yoga.
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