Life balance is defined by psychologists as a division of focus, energy and time spent between the different aspects of a person’s life, especially family, friends, and work. Most people feel more satisfied and happier when there is a healthy balance between these aspects – how that balance structure look like however, is individual.    

Learn more about Work-Life balance for healthcare professionals from a different M3 Pulse and how to achieve it. 

Too much emphasis on work frequently results in employees feeling frustrated, stressed, and dissatisfied. If this continues for longer periods of time, it can cause feelings of isolation, loneliness and exhaustion which may lead to burnout and depression. This is an important highlight when looking into job satisfaction and the mental wellness of healthcare professionals, since the nature of their work and working conditions in many countries often don´t allow them to recover properly. In many other professions there are cycles of hectic and stressful phases during the year which takes toll on employees’ work-life balance periodically. In the medical community however, those demanding cycles that requires more focus, energy, and time from the employee tend to be longer, even continuous in some cases. Thus, putting physicians and other healthcare providers at higher risk of depression and mental illness.  

To have a well establishes support system is key. The amount of support one receives from family, friends, colleagues, and employers has great impacts one ones coping capabilities and work productivity. Statistics from American Psychological Association (APA), show that companies without systems to support the well-being of their employees have higher turnover, lower productivity, and higher healthcare costs. A system that supports work-life balance is beneficial for both the employer and the employee.  

Five ways how to improve job satisfaction and avoid work-related stress in healthcare: 

1. Increase focus on provider engagement; by building processes and taking action to listen, understand and implement solutions to address work environment issues. 
2. Show your providers you appreciate them; by developing a different kind of appreciation programs. 
3. Create opportunities for feedback; by creating space and available resources for employees to express their concerns and needs so that healthcare professionals can take the best possible care of the patients that they were trained to do. 
4. Encourage peer-to-peer coaching and create social opportunities; by implementing a mixture of engaging tools that will help people feel they are listened to, appreciated, and build camaraderie between employees.
5. Build a culture of safety and open communication; constantly asking questions to understand what the barriers are, making concentrated efforts to correct issues identified, and can keep communicating back to your workforce that you’re doing that, which helps everybody feel like they’re included in the process.