Work-life balance
Some nurses may struggle with work-life balance because of the nature of the job, long hours and shift work commitments. Some say nurses are especially vulnerable because they are socialized into a caretaker role, and the result is that they may put other’s needs before their own. Nurses should pay extra attention to managing work-life balance to ensure they derive maximum satisfaction from their work while maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Isolation is unhealthy
Stress and fatigue are on-the-job challenges for nurses. Since RNs are educated to be self-sufficient professionals, they often assume they can handle everything on their own. No one can be everything to everyone all of the time; nurses can and should turn to family, friends and colleagues for support. Peer associations like the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario and issue-related support groups are also good starting places for coping with any sort of work-life balance challenge.
Healthy Work Environments Reference Guide for Nurse Managers (by the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario) is chalk full of evidence-based recommendations to assist nurses in personal leadership development as well as in creating an effective organizational culture to support nurses in all nursing roles.
RNAO's Best Practice Developing and Sustaining Effective Staffing and Workload Practices contains excellent recommendations for managing overload.
Check out these links for support in these main challenge areas.
Stress and fatigue
Shift work
Eating healthy and getting enough sleep can be a struggle when you’re working different hours than family and friends. Get tips from these helpful links.
What is a healthy health-care organization?
The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario has identified basic qualities that should be present in any place in which health-care services are delivered. A healthy health-care organization is one that:
- Values people
- Respects their staff
- Shares leadership
- Promotes healthy living
- Has knowledge of the people they serve
- Provides staff who are experts in the care they deliver
- Encourages nurses and other staff to balance their work and home life
- Provides enough nurses and other staff to provide high quality care
How do you know if your workplace is healthy? You will see:
- Staff working well together
- Positive, polite, respectful behaviour
- Nurses spending time with their patients
- Teamwork among nurses and other staff
- Health-care teams that reflect the cultures of the community
- Nurses who are not rushed all the time
- Nurses and other staff helping each other