While any career comes with its stressors, there’s no denying that healthcare professionals are under a great deal of pressure on a daily basis. For this reason, it is hardly surprising that the number of healthcare staff dealing with mental health struggles is on the rise.
While things have improved slightly from 2021, when 1 in 4 healthcare workers reported ‘mental distress’, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
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Fortunately, there are many different ways in which you can set about bettering the mental health of your team. Read on to find out more!
Reduce their workload. One of the most significant triggers for mental health struggles within the healthcare industry is burnout. Between lengthy back-to-back shifts, complex cases, and simply trying to go above and beyond for their patients, healthcare professionals leave little time in their day to actually care for themselves.
As a practice owner or manager, however, you can help to prevent burnout by finding ways to reduce burnout without having to turn away patients. For example, you could start by working alongside companies that offer administrative health care services, so that your team no longer has to spend time on routine admin tasks and can instead focus on the work that you actually hired them for. This will reduce their stress quite significantly moving forward.
Offer employee wellness training. Offering employee wellness training is another great way to ensure that you are taking good care of your team. This is because it helps them to recognize the importance of daily self-care practices, advocating for themselves, and looking out for others, all of which can help to give workplace wellness a much-needed boost.
Still not convinced? A recent study found that employees who work for companies with wellness plans in place reported experiencing “reduced levels of burnout, better social wellbeing, higher levels of belonging, and an increased feeling of thriving.”
When putting together a training or wellness program, make sure to consult your current employees ahead of time. This way, you can tailor their plan to address their specific needs and concerns, which will allow you to maximize the benefits associated with this.
Make sure that you can recognise when someone is struggling. Many of those who are struggling with their mental health do so in silence, especially at work. This is because they may feel as though opening up will jeopardize their career or change the way in which people treat them. As such, it is important that you are able to recognize when someone may be struggling, so that you can offer them help and support.
For example, it could be that you’ve noticed a change in their attitude or their approach to their work. Or they may take longer to complete simple tasks. Either way, being able to pick up on this puts you in the best position to help support your team moving forward.
Let them know you’re there to help. If you’ve noticed that one of your employees is struggling, let them know that you’re there to offer them help and support should they wish to take it. Be sure to be both sensitive and tactile when bringing this up, as they may not yet be ready to talk about how they are feeling.
However, you should make it clear that they will not be penalized or judged for doing so, and signpost them toward any support services they can use during this time. For example, you may want to offer to subsidise the cost of therapy and counselling, or provide them with access to relevant resources.
Lead by example. Leading by example, such as by talking openly about your own thoughts and emotions (when appropriate), can also help to promote workplace wellness. This is because it helps you to build a thoughtful community where employees look out for each other, and understand that it’s okay not to be okay.
Final thoughts. While the healthcare industry is known for being high-stress, there are actually plenty of steps that you can take to promote workplace wellness and take good care of your team. This includes reducing their daily workload to prevent burnout and creating a safe space for conversation and seeking help.
Taking these steps is crucial. After all, not only will it mean that you’re looking out for your employees, but it can also have a positive impact on employee retention and even patient outcomes. Putting it simply, a happy team is a successful team.
