Report examines stress levels of healthcare providers
Friday November 16, 2007 -- Jason Thompson
A report released by Statistics Canada suggests healthcare providers, especially doctors and nurses, are experiencing higher levels of stress on the job than the rest of the Canadian workforce.

Using data from the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), the report concludes that because doctors and nurses are responsible for delivering healthcare, the findings should concern all Canadians.

According to the CCHS, healthcare providers comprised six per cent of the Canadian workforce in 2003. Forty-five per cent of these workers say most days are either “quite” or “extremely stressful,” compared to 31 per cent of all other employed people. Self-employed healthcare providers also reported lower levels of stress.

The report says that even when influences outside the workplace are taken into account, specialist physicians, general practitioners/family physicians and registered nurses (excluding supervisors and head nurses) are reporting the higher stress levels than other healthcare workers.

Some of the work-related factors attributed to high stress levels include higher income and logistical features of the job such as number of working hours, the number of shifts and the lack of regular daytime shifts.

Life dissatisfaction was another major factor linked to high stress levels at work. Three-quarters of healthcare providers who were either “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with their lives reported high levels of stress at work.

In addition, healthcare providers who described their own health as either “good,” “very good” or “excellent,” were less likely to report high work stress than their counterparts whose health is described as “fair” or “poor.”

The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) says that because the causes of workplace stress vary, so do the strategies for stress reduction or prevention.

To help reduce stress in the workplace, the CMHA suggests:

• The job should be reasonably demanding, but not based on sheer endurance, and provide the employee with at least a minimum of variety in job tasks.
• The employee should be able to learn on the job and be allowed to continue to learn as their career progresses.
• The job should comprise some area of decision-making that the individual can call his or her own.
• There should be some degree of social support and recognition in the workplace. The employee should feel that the job leads to some sort of desirable future.
• Laughing is one of the easiest and best ways to reduce stress. Share a joke with a co-worker, watch a funny movie at home with some friends, read the comics, and try to see the humour in the situation.
• Learn to relax, take several deep breaths throughout the day, or have regular stretch breaks. Stretching is simple enough to do anywhere and only takes a few seconds.
• Take charge of your situation by taking 10 minutes at the beginning of each day to prioritize and organize your day.

(Source: Canadian Mental Health Association)