The stress of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic over the past year-and-a-half has increased the risk of workplace burnout. Workers in the healthcare sector and those in carer roles are especially vulnerable to job burnout during the pandemic.
Burnout is characterised by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.
“Burnout in the healthcare sector is sometimes referred to as compassion fatigue,” said Daniella Oswald, care manager from San Sereno, a community of Auria Senior Living. Auria Senior Living manages communities throughout South Africa, including Melrose Manor in the Melrose area.
She explained this was because healthcare, and emergency service workers had to deal with emotional demands, trauma and grief in their line of work. She further explained this emotional and physical load had been increased during the pandemic.
She said those in carer roles, for example, those working in retirement villages, had also been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and could be susceptible to job burnout. “These are people in passion-driven roles, who make caring for others their priority. What is different for them is that unlike those who only see patients periodically for treatment, carers interact daily with the same set of residents. This puts a certain amount of pressure on them to achieve consistency in their interactions and perform at the same high level all the time.”
Oswald shared advice for employers to help staff overcome workplace stress and burnout, during these challenging times:
- Give staff the means to access professional help
“Auria has social workers within all its communities to provide support to residents and staff, and to refer people to the right professionals to assist them with any emotional difficulties.” - Physical rest time is critical
Staff need adequate time to rest and recharge. There should be no interruptions in that time.
“This is one of the reasons why shift work is so common in healthcare roles.” - Make people feel safe
The current Covid-19 pandemic has made many people anxious about their safety and the safety of their families.
“Do whatever you need to do to make them feel safe, protected and cared for in the workplace and beyond. This might mean providing sanitiser and masks for those who have safety concerns.” - Communicate and care for one another
Regular debriefings and group discussions about concerns during a pandemic or following a traumatic event help bring issues to light so that they can be addressed. They can also play an educational role. “Not everyone realises that they may be heading for, or suffering from, burnout. We feel that having regular group debriefing and sharing sessions may help staff to keep an eye on each other and notice if someone else is struggling.”
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