People are stressed out at work. In fact, nearly half of people report feeling stressed during their workday, a percentage that continues to increase. People feel workplace stress, regardless of their profession, and correctional healthcare is no exception. Here are some tips for stress reduction in correctional healthcare.
Sources of Stress in Correctional Healthcare
If you work in correctional healthcare, you’re all too familiar with the stressors that come with the role. Here’s an overview of some of the common sources of stress in correctional health:
- Providing Care. Working in a helping profession and caring for others can be stressful. Healthcare professionals are responsible for managing sometimes complex medical conditions and offering emotional support to patients. The daily task of caregiving can be a lot to handle.
- Unpredictable Environment. Correctional facilities can be unpredictable. Healthcare professionals must be prepared to respond to medical emergencies.
- Emotional Stressors. Providing care in a correctional setting often involves treating people with mental health concerns, substance use disorders, and chronic illnesses. The emotional weight of these cases, combined with occasional patient noncompliance, can lead to compassion fatigue and emotional exhaustion.
- Security Restrictions. Unlike traditional healthcare settings, correctional facilities have security measures that must be followed. These measures add another layer of consideration when providing care.
The Impact of Unresolved or Ongoing Workplace Stress
When workplace stress goes unmanaged or becomes chronic, it can have negative physical and emotional effects on the person experiencing the stress. At TK Health, we want to ensure our team has the knowledge and tools to combat workplace stress to avoid the impacts below.
Burnout and Job Dissatisfaction
One of the most common consequences of chronic workplace stress is burnout, a state of emotional stress from dealing with other people’s needs. One study found that 66% of employees report experiencing burnout, which is an all-time high. For healthcare professionals, burnout can lead to reduced job satisfaction, lack of motivation, and detachment from the job. All of these components can result in turnover.
Physical Health Problems
Chronic stress is linked to various physical health issues, including headaches, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal problems, and cardiovascular diseases. Stress can manifest in long-term health concerns that affect their overall quality of life.
Mental Health Issues
The emotional toll of constant stress can contribute to mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, and substance use. The pressure of working in correctional healthcare, combined with exposure to trauma and violence, can exacerbate mental health challenges, making it essential to seek appropriate support and resources.
Effective Stress Reduction Strategies
Managing stress requires knowledge, understanding, and application of stress reduction strategies. Here are some effective ways you can work to reduce your own stress.
Prioritizing Self-Care
Taking care of yourself is the foundation of stress management, and it’s something only you can do. Think about it. You can’t provide the best care for others if you don’t care for yourself first. This means adhering to the three basic pillars of care: getting ample sleep, moving your body regularly, and eating a nutritious diet.
Beyond that, self-care can be anything you do to care for yourself. It may include setting boundaries between your work and personal life, spending time with loved ones, engaging in hobbies, listening to music, or even just hugging your dog.
Building Emotional Resilience
Emotional resilience is essentially how well you can respond to stress and adapt to life challenges. Perhaps one of the great things about emotional resilience is that you can build it if you don’t feel like you already have it or think you aren’t resilient enough. Building emotional resilience includes practices like:
- Prioritizing Relationships. Engage with empathetic and understanding people, perhaps like loved ones or other team members, to reinforce that you’re not alone during challenging times.
- Practicing Mindfulness. Mindfulness, yoga, or spiritual practices can foster self-awareness and maintain a hopeful outlook.
- Helping Others. This is an interesting way that your role in correctional healthcare may already be helping you build resilience. Assisting people in need can be empowering and make you feel accomplished.
- Maintaining Perspective. Focus on where you are now while keeping a long-term outlook. Try to avoid magnifying events out of proportion.
Creating a Supportive Work Environment
A positive and collaborative work culture can reduce stress and improve job satisfaction. You can contribute to creating a supportive work environment by communicating readily and often with other team members, addressing concerns professionally as they arise, and making yourself available to mentor others who need help.
Managing Your Time Well
Less than 40% of people think they have things under control at work five days a week. It’s okay to feel like things aren’t always calm or ideal, but it’s also important to your well-being to try to manage your time well and balance your workload as best you can. Managing your workload means prioritizing the most important task you must do in any given day, taking short breaks to rest and recharge, and setting boundaries to avoid overloading yourself with work-related tasks and responsibilities.
Practicing Gratitude
What are you grateful for? Taking notice of things you’re thankful for, whether it’s that first sip of coffee or your supportive coworker, can calm your nervous system and help you relieve stress. Not only that, but having a daily gratitude practice, whether it’s a simple observation or writing it down in a journal, has been proven to improve resilience and increase happiness.
Using Employer Resources
A good employer wants you to succeed at work and in life, and they’ll give you the resources to do so. Take advantage of these opportunities for help, including Employee Assistance Programs that offer mental health support, training opportunities, wellness initiatives, and stress management resources.
Ask your human resources team if you aren’t sure what type of resources your employer offers or if you need something specific. Also, don’t hesitate to start your own efforts at your site, like a walking group during lunch or daily gratitude sharing, if you see an unfilled need.
Reducing Your Stress
The truth is that all jobs are stressful in their own way, and you’re ultimately responsible for managing your own workplace-related stress. There are steps you can take and skills you can apply to reduce your stress, both at work and in life. Doing so will help you show up better for yourself, your loved ones, and your job.
