Challenges facing pharmacists
Recognising stress at work
Stress can affect individuals, work teams and the entire workplace.
There are six main areas that can lead to work-related stress if they are not managed properly. These are: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. Factors like skills and experience, age or disability may all affect whether an employee can cope.
Employers and managers should observe and listen for stress cues. This will allow earlier intervention and a reduction in stress levels in the workplace.
Many healthcare professionals will not openly admit that they are stressed. Employees may say that they:
- Are not able to cope with the demands of their jobs
- Are unable to control the way they do their work
- Don’t receive enough information and support
- Are having trouble with relationships at work, or are being bullied
- Don’t fully understand their roles and responsibilities
- Are not engaged or involved when a business is undergoing change.
Challenges facing pharmacists
Volume, new contractual frameworks, expansion of services, priorities and targets, long working hours, paperwork
Lack of adequate resourcing, competence, confidence
Budget cuts, changing remuneration models
Disruption to professional workflow, lack of privacy for pharmacist and patient, not acceptably businesslike.
Lack of contact with other pharmacists
Increased demands and expectations, emotional response to patient suffering
Culture and conflicts, management support, ethical challenges and structural constraints
Business fragility, business administration roles
Impact of robotics, hub and spoke dispensing; the burden of being efficient, medicines shortages, avoiding mistakes and how to move from a dispensing to clinical/dispensing model.
It is widely understood by academic researchers, organisational leaders and, increasingly, employees that chronic, extended periods of stress in the workplace can have significantly negative influences on employee health and wellbeing.
Pause to reflect
Identify a work-related time when you felt totally overwhelmed. As you go back to that time, reflect upon how you responded to the workload. Work through the following questions:
- What contributed to your workload?
- How did you feel?
- Was your concentration affected?
- Did it affect how you interacted with colleagues and patients?
- Did you speak to a line manager or employer?
- Do you feel confident to admit that you could be stressed, without retribution?
Reflect upon your answers. Could you have reacted differently? How can you personally address workload in your practice?