Craving Work/Life Balance? Our Five Top Tips for Nurses
Nursing is notorious for work-related stress, but it’s possible to keep anxiety at bay. Here we share our top tips for maintaining a reasonable balance between a nursing career and and your home life.
Ditch the Guilt
Chances are that if you’re part of a caring profession like nursing, you’re an empathetic, conscientious person who puts others’ wellbeing front and centre of your daily work. Congratulations: you’re a wonderful human being.
However, when conscientiousness goes too far and turns into its ugly cousin - guilt - it’s time take a step back and reassess.
How? Baby steps. Remember you’re only one person and can only do so much. Tell yourself as often as necessary - even if it’s every ten minutes - that your best is good enough. Follow the advice you’d give a friend - take care of yourself, try to be fully present at work and fully present at home - and most importantly? Leave work on time.
Live More Healthily
The last thing on your mind after a long shift is a jog (bleurgh) or a Crossfit class (double bleurgh). But you know the science - exercise equals endorphins and stamina, and endorphins and stamina equals happy nurses.
Try to foster good habits in a way that feels natural and achievable rather than a chore. Take the stairs at work rather than the lift and bring healthy leftovers for your breaks instead of giving in to the temptations of the vending machines. Over time, small changes can mean big results.
Make Time for You
We don’t mean sinking into a bubble bath and lighting scented candles every night - although if that’s your thing, go for it. Time for you can be anything that you enjoy, from getting your camera out at the weekend to remembering to bring your book for the daily commute.
When you’ve got a busy work and home life, it can be easy to forget about the things you enjoy doing. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy (and a stressed-out nurse).
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Working long hours can make you feel important - vital, even. It’s easy to get your head down and get on - until those long, martyrish hours start taking their toll.
The fact is that we Brits are far less productive compared to our European neighbours, and the Mental Health Foundation found that when working long hours, 27% of employees feel depressed, 34% feel anxious and 58% feel irritable.
Ask yourself how you can work smart, rather than slaving away every minute of the day. Prioritise your tasks daily and re-prioritise throughout a shift as things crops up. Give yourself a certain amount of time per task and try not to get caught up in pointless time-sucking activities.
We know, easier said than done, but once you start letting go of perfectionism, setting boundaries and - shock horror! - saying no, you’ll find your work-life balance is restored and you might even discover a new-found respect for yourself.
Ask for Help
So what if you try everything above and you still feel overwhelmed by work? You need to make your wellbeing a priority; you can’t pour from an empty cup and all that.
In these situations, there’s nothing left to do but take a deep breath and talk to your line manager about your concerns. They have a duty to respond and make specific, tangible changes to restore your sanity.
Of course, there’s another way to stay in control of your work/life balance, and that’s finding work through Nightingale.
Nightingale helps healthcare professionals find the work they want without costly agency fees, meaning Nightingale nurses enjoy transparency, flexibility and up to 20% more in their pay packet.