Yes, it’s true that for medics, maintaining a good work-life balance is difficult. Some specialties are affected more than others. Trainees in surgical specialties generally spend more hours at work than their medical colleagues. In addition, female physicians, who represent an increasing proportion of physicians face different challenges when raising a family. How can we maintain a healthy work-life balance in medicine, while also building our careers?
Why bother with all this work-life balance stuff?
You’re probably thinking, here goes more 21st century work-life balance BS. Or, people need to just get on with it etc. A quick look at some published research changed my perspective. While we sometimes dramatise work-life balance in medicine, it really is an important concept for both doctors and their patients. This is because work-life imbalance is closely associated with physician burnout. More of your colleagues than you realise are burnt out and the consequences affect not only them, but their patients and loved ones. You yourself, might even be suffering burnout without realising it.
It is known that happier doctors are better able to care for patients, make less mistakes and are more willing you are to go the extra mile in delivering good quality patient care . Equally important, is the fact that burnout can significantly affect your mental health and lead to depression.
Despite all the evidence, work-life balance amongst medics seems to be worsening, and to some, remains a myth. We must realise we have more power than we think to change the situations we are in. It may not be easy but it is possible to live a more balanced life and by doing so, be more satisfied with our work. So how can we change things?
Make the decision
To have a good work life balance is a choice. First, acknowledge that you can make decisions today to give you a career that is more in line with what you want in life. Then, you have to make the decision. Sounds obvious right? Many people feel stuck because they think they do not have a choice. This is not true. There are always things within your control. Decide today that you will actively manage things that are within your control. Once you change that perspective, everything else becomes easier.
Set Priorities
Setting clear personal and career goals will help you make the right decisions. Write down a list of your goals in order of importance. Decide how important spending time with your family is to you. How important is maintaining a hobby to you? Do you want to spend more time mentoring others? Once you have your priorities right, you can better decide what you want. You may end up deciding the most important thing is your career progression and you want to spend more time at work. That is okay. Bottom line is: ensure you are being intentional. Setting priorities means you become more aware when you are sacrificing important things.
Have clear boundaries
After setting priorities, you will realise where you have unhealthy work practices. For example, maybe you often take work home with you. Or you constantly feel obligated to cover other people’s shifts because you don’t want to ‘let your team down’. This is something we all struggle with especially because as doctors, we often feel obliged to help. By always trying to be a superhero, you will eventually let yourself and others down. You will also sacrifice the quality of your work. Exercising your ‘nos’ is sometimes necessary and certainly healthier than overcommitting. What’s more, it gets easier. Just remember, you don’t have to feel guilty for saying no.
Time management is key to achieving a good work-life balance
This should probably be number one. Be efficient with the time you have. Instead of scrolling through instagram, use the minutes between operating cases to log previous cases in your logbook, finish off your notes, reply your emails, etc. Of course it is more tasking and mentally demanding as it requires you to be constantly switched on, but it pays off because when you leave work, you don’t have to think about work. You can leave your work at work.
Take stock of what your time out of work is spent on and compare it to your priority list. Delete accordingly. If you would like to keep up a passion or hobby, or develop a skill, but the free time you have on weekends is used bingeing on tv shows, then change that. Yes you cannot create more time but you can make sure the time you have is well-spent.
Beware the little inches
Help when you can and be a good teammate. but make sure the one family dinner you skip doesn’t become 10. That one gym session you skip shouldn’t lead to habitually sacrificing your healthy lifestyle. Before you know it, you’ve gained 15kg, you’re out of breath when you take the stairs and need new clothes. Beware of those little innocuous inches, it can be a slippery slope.
Lastly, It is important to realise work is part of life and they aren’t mutually exclusive. Your life in work and your life outside of work will always continue to push and pull at each other and it will be a continuous struggle. It is also important to distinguish between unhappiness with our job and work-life imbalance. Sometimes we want to have more of a life outside of work because we aren’t happy at work. If this is your struggle, find ways to do more of the parts of the job that you love. That may be the balance you are really looking for. It is is expressed quite aptly here.
