Question

Your hospital recently merged with another hospital. The workload doubled, but you did not gain double the amount of staff. You noticed an increase in absenteeism. Staff members have been moody. You believe staff are stressed and burned out. In your initial post, answer the following questions:

How would you confirm/discount that your beliefs are correct?

What social support will you use? Why?

What other interventions would you recommend (Henry or other resources. Be sure to cite your sources)?

Answer 1

How would you confirm/discount that your beliefs are correct?

The below signs would confirm that the employees are stressed-

• Absenteeism- an increase in the absenteeism rate (sick leaves) is a major indication that something is wrong with the atmosphere.
• Negative team dynamics- Team dynamics have a great influence on the team’s performance. Negative team dynamics would showcase poor performance for the company.
• Low productivity- When the productivity is less, it indicates that employee morale is low.
• Employee turnover rate is high is a great indication that the employees are stressed and there is workplace dissatisfaction.

What social support will you use? Why?

Social support is the comfort given both emotionally and physically by family, friends, co-workers and others who can support morally. It indicates that the employees are part of a community and that they love and care for them.

Social support such as co-workers and management support would enhance the morale of the workers. Since the co-workers are all stressed, the first step that the management should take is to develop the participative leadership style among the managers who are in direct contact with the employees. Managers play a critical role in providing social support to employees. Emotional, instrumental, informational and appraisal are the different types of supportive behaviors. Appraisals (one-to-one) and emotional support can be provided by managers to remove the preconceived notions about the workplace. A passion for career growth needs to be instigated among employees who would work harder to reach their career goals. Then, the employees’ work can be analyzed and the job functions can be shared equally among the co-workers. Family events to distress the employees are a great event as a social support activity.

What other interventions would you recommend?

The major factors that contribute to the stress of employees are long working hours and intense demands from the management. This stress harms both the health of the employees and the business. The below interventions can be used to handle stress-

• Lead by example- I would take the workload positively and lead others by example.
• Taking short breaks for de-stressing is a great way to remove the tension in the work. Employees are more likely to increase productivity and be less stressful.
• Listening to the employees is pertinent to address the employee concerns.
• As a manager, I would encourage team bonding. Leaders should encourage their team members to bond with each other by trusting relationships.
• Creating a positive and pleasant work atmosphere would encourage and motivate the employees
• Allowing employees to work in flexible work schedules motivates employees.