Burnout, work-life balance, and sheer exhaustion plague healthcare today leading to higher turnover than ever before. Healthcare workers are being asked to work more hours and are often short-staffed. Staffing alone is stressful but add to that all the normal, day-to-day, real-life responsibilities most of us have and you’ve got a prescription for physical and emotional collapse…and simple platitudes don’t help.
The Challenge
I’m thoroughly disillusioned to see that many of the basic issues that plagued us decades ago when I began my nursing career are still prevalent today.
When I was asked to work an extra shift, my mind went immediately to things like childcare, household chores that needed to be done, and much, much more. Days off were spent cleaning, doing laundry, running errands, and trying to stay organized. What I needed was real solutions to all the non-work responsibilities in my life. I was happy to work extra but needed help in picking up the slack in my personal life.
The Solution
Here’s what would have made it easier to say yes to more, or longer, shifts:
- Nutritious and delicious dinner for four delivered to my home at dinnertime
- Someone to arrange an oil change and tire rotation on my car (preferably while I am working)
- Help in planning my five-year-old’s party at the children’s museum
- Someone to compare prices and make reservations for a weekend getaway with my family
- Laundry
- Pick up dry cleaning
- Raking or mowing the lawn
The Result
Frankly, I still need help getting all those things done, but I found help with all that through one, simple app. The app connects me with the resources to get it all done, leaving my non-work time free to spend with my family or on my hobbies. One request through the app and a personal assistant finds what I need.
I started using the app about 18 months ago and it is like having a personal, virtual assistant. I firmly believe that hospitals and healthcare systems that offer this service to employees will help lift some of their day-to-day burdens.
Formerly called, Errand Solutions, Help Me LYLA is exactly what I needed as a working mother and even now as a busy business owner. Aptly named, LYLA stands for Love Your Life Again and that is exactly what it does. I find that by using their service, I’m able to rest and recuperate outside of work because I’ve found help with tasks that eat up my time.
LYLA is offered as an employee benefit. The monthly investment per employee is less than a latte at a coffee shop.
Next Steps
I encourage all healthcare systems to do focus groups or surveys with employees. Find out what will provide the most support to them as human beings outside of work. I promise it won’t be pizza and platitudes.
While pizza parties and platitudes are nice, it’s important to drill down and listen to employees about what they really need to a create work/life balance.
If you need help conducting focus groups, surveys, or improving employee engagement, contact us today at (866) 686-7672 or info@baird-group.com. We offer a full range of consulting services to help you make lasting change within your organization.
Tags: burout, Employee Appreciation, platitudes
