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 is some additional information about workplace stress, how it shows up, and tips for managing workplace stress in correctional healthcare.
What Is Workplace Stress?
Workplace stress is the physical and emotional response you experience when your job demands exceed your ability to cope with them. Some stress is good and helps you stay focused and motivated. But ongoing or chronic workplace stress can take a toll on your physical and mental well-being.
Common results of workplace stress include:
- Physical Health Problems. Chronic stress is linked to various physical health issues, including headaches, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal issues, and cardiovascular diseases.
- Mental and Emotional Exhaustion. 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 support.
- Reduced Job Performance. Stress can affect focus, decision-making, communication, and productivity. You may even find it more difficult to manage complex work situations because of chronic stress.
- Strained Workplace Relationships. High stress levels can make collaboration more challenging, leading to misunderstandings, frustration, and communication breakdowns among team members.
- Lower Job Satisfaction. 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.
Sources of Workplace 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 a variety of 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. Correctional facilities have security measures that must be followed. These measures add another layer of consideration when providing care.
- Shift Work. Many correctional healthcare professionals work nights, weekends, holidays, or rotating schedules. Irregular hours can disrupt sleep, make it more difficult to maintain healthy routines, and increase physical and emotional fatigue over time.
- Trauma Exposure. Correctional healthcare professionals regularly care for patients experiencing medical emergencies, mental health crises, or the effects of substance use. Repeated exposure to these traumatic situations can take an emotional toll without appropriate support.
- Difficult Conversations. Healthcare professionals often have challenging discussions with patients about health issues. Navigating these conversations and the patients’ responses to them with empathy and professionalism can be emotionally demanding.
How Do You Know When Workplace Stress Is Becoming a Problem?
Everyone experiences stress at work sometimes. But when stress becomes constant or begins to interfere with how you function, it may be a sign that it’s time to seek help and protect your well-being.
Signs that workplace stress may be becoming a problem include:
- Persistent Fatigue. Feeling tired most days, even after getting enough sleep, or struggling to maintain your energy throughout your shift is a sign that something bigger is going on.
- Difficulty Concentrating. Having trouble focusing, making decisions, remembering details, or staying organized during the workday suggests an issue.
- Mood Changes: It’s worth taking a closer look if you’re feeling more irritable, anxious, frustrated, or emotionally drained than usual.
- Sleep Disturbances. You can’t be your best without proper rest. So, it’s time to take action if you’re having difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up feeling rested because of work-related stress.
- Physical Symptoms. If you just “don’t feel well,” but there’s no recognizable reason for your headaches, muscle tension, stomach problems, etc., they may be stress-related.
- Emotional Detachment. If you feel disconnected from your work and teammates, it’s not a good sign.
- Loss of Job Satisfaction. You should enjoy what you do more days than not. Dreading going to work, feeling less motivated, or questioning whether you want to continue in your current role are all signs that something is off.
It’s time to take a closer look at what’s going on and seek help if you notice these signs in yourself or a teammate.
Donna Roberts, Chief Nursing Officer, said caring for patients begins with caring for each other at TK Health.
“If workplace stress is affecting your well-being, we encourage you to reach out to your leader or a member of our support team. You are valued, your concerns matter, and asking for help is a sign of wisdom and strength.:
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.
Practicing Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is something you can do immediately to manage workplace stress. Taking slow, controlled breaths can help calm your nervous system and reduce stress. A simple breathing exercise, such as inhaling for four seconds, holding for four seconds, and exhaling for four seconds, can be done almost anywhere and at any time. It sounds too simple to work, but it really does.
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.
Resetting After a Challenging Situation
Take time after a challenging patient interaction or stressful event to pause before moving on to your next task. Even a brief opportunity to breathe, gather your thoughts, or talk with a trusted coworker can help reduce emotional stress. Don’t underestimate the benefit of talking out your feelings or taking a moment to process what happened.
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.
Focusing on What You Can Control
There are a lot of things about your work that are out of your control. Focusing your energy on those things can lead to stress, frustration, and burnout. Instead, focus on actions you can take and what you can do for yourself and your team. Remember: The only thing you can truly control is yourself.
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.
Disconnecting After Work
You aren’t expected to work all the time, and it’s not good for you when work is your sole focus. When your shift ends, make time to recharge. Do things you enjoy with people you love, and let your mind and body rest.
How Employers Can Help Reduce Workplace Stress
Employers aren’t responsible for your emotional well-being, but they should help create a healthy work environment. Organizations that invest in the well-being of their team members have happier, more successful teams who stay with them.
Employers can help reduce workplace stress by:
- Maintaining Staffing. Chronic understaffing can increase workloads, contribute to fatigue, and make it more difficult for healthcare professionals to function in their work and private lives. Providing adequate staffing helps distribute responsibilities and reduce unnecessary stress.
- Supporting Balance. Flexible scheduling, predictable shifts whenever possible, and encouraging team members to use their time off can help prevent chronic stress and give healthcare professionals the opportunity to rest and recharge.
- Providing Mental Health Resources. Employee assistance programs, counseling services, mental health benefits, and wellness programs give team members access to support when they need it. Employers should offer these resources and encourage their use, even leading by example.
- Fostering Supportive Leadership. Managers and supervisors who communicate openly, recognize accomplishments, and check in regularly with their teams can help create a culture where healthcare professionals feel valued, respected, and supported.
- Encouraging Development. People want to grow. Continuing education, mentorship opportunities, and career advancement programs help team members develop new skills and stay engaged in their work.
- Promoting Teamwork. A collaborative workplace where team members support one another can reduce isolation and increase job satisfaction. Strong communication and mutual respect help teams work more effectively together.
- Recognizing Stress. Leaders who can identify the early signs of chronic stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout can have candid conversations with team members and connect them with resources before problems become more serious.
Reducing Your Stress
Workplace stress is a reality in healthcare, but it shouldn’t define your career or control your life. Managing stress is a shared responsibility between healthcare professionals and the organizations that support them. At TK Health, we’re committed to fostering a supportive work environment through strong staffing and providing resources that help our team members thrive. If you are looking for a career where your well-being is a priority, join the TK Health team.
FAQs
What are the most common causes of workplace stress in correctional healthcare?
Correctional healthcare professionals experience a variety of workplace stressors, just like in any other role. However, factors specific to this type of work may include heavy workloads, shift work, staffing challenges, emotionally demanding patient interactions, trauma exposure, and providing patient care in a secure environment. Recognizing these potential stressors is the first step toward managing them effectively.
How can correctional healthcare organizations help reduce workplace stress?
Correctional healthcare organizations can help reduce workplace stress by maintaining appropriate staffing levels, providing supportive leadership, promoting balance, having access to wellness resources, and encouraging teamwork. When employers prioritize well-being, they set the standard for their teams.
