Occupational stress is a very real issue in many professions and healthcare is no exception. In fact, healthcare workers have a higher rate of suicide and substance abuse when compared to other professions.
What is occupational stress, what are the dangers of it, and what are ways to prevent it?
Occupational stress is a common occurrence in most workplaces and positive stress tends to be a positive factor. The right type of stress is a great motivator and a natural source of adrenaline. This is what drives employees to work better, work competitively, and be more productive. But of course, the wrong type of stress can do the exact opposite.
Negative occupational stress can lead to anxiety and frustration in the workplace, which will have a harmful impact on job performance. For healthcare workers, this harmful impact may eventually impair their patient’s health and successful recovery. A leading cause of this negative stress comes from the high expectations of healthcare organizations – demands that often are not accompanied by sufficient time or support for the employee to meet these expectations.
The CDC’s pamphlet, “Occupational Hazards in Hospitals”, lists several stress factors, but one easily recognizable factor involves the long hours and excessive workload. In a hospital setting, workers are often expected to work beyond the traditional eight hour workday, sometimes working twelve hours or more. Each time employees are expected to work beyond a reasonable schedule, psychological, behavioral, and physical harm may result.
In a July 2004 study researching the working hours of hospital staff nurses and patient safety, it was found that “the risks of making an error were significantly increased when work shifts were longer than twelve hours, when nurses worked overtime, or when they worked more than forty hours per week.”
Realizing that occupational stress is a harmful part of the healthcare industry, there are steps organizational leaders can take to help alleviate this problem. Redesigning the positions most hurt by daily stress should be the top priority. As the CDC’s shares, this includes:
- Ensuring the workload is in line with the worker’s capability and resources
- Providing clear definitions of the roles and responsibilities
- Allow workers to have a say in decisions and actions affecting their jobs
If the stress factors can’t be completely eliminated, offering a voice to the employee may provide creative input or solutions for improving certain work areas.
By reducing occupational stress and including employees in the problem solving process, organizations can improve job satisfaction, reduce turnover, absenteeism and job stress. As a result of decreasing occupational stress in the healthcare fields, patients get better treatment and care.
