The good manager: Tackling loneliness in the healthcare workforce

UK nurses will stage a second unprecedented strike amid an increasingly acrimonious fight with the government for better wages – Copyright AFP/File ISABEL INFANTES

Loneliness can occur when someone is feeling socially isolated, excluded, or misunderstood. It’s a serious public health concern and is something that many people experience daily, including healthcare workers, and their patients.

Long-term loneliness can have an immense impact on physical and mental health, with some studies suggesting it can increase the likelihood of early death by as much as 26 percent.

It is therefore important that healthcare workers and nurses across all settings can recognise the telltale signs of loneliness, both in their patients and co-workers, and that they are equipped with the knowledge and resources to offer the best support and treatment possible.

To offer guidance, the patient safety and compliance experts at Radar Healthcare have compiled a list of effective ways healthcare professionals can combat loneliness within themselves and their peers. This information has been shared with Digital Journal.

Larger break rooms for enhanced communication

Offering healthcare workers a larger space for enhanced communication will allow those working unsociable and long hours together the space to communicate and unwind while having breaks from work.

It is also beneficial if break rooms have access to windows that can be opened in order to let fresh air and sunlight in during long and overnight shifts.

Supportive and comfortable spaces

As well as providing larger break rooms, it is also important for healthcare workers to have additional spaces that contain access to comfortable furniture, relaxing lighting, or views of the outside world.

These comfortable environments will provide more of a relaxing zone for healthcare workers to unwind and where healthcare professionals can provide emotional support to one another.

Plants

Studies have indicated that biophilic design (the presence of indoor plants) can improve concentration and productivity (by up to 15 percent), reduce stress levels, and boost your mood. This is why healthcare professionals should implement lots of greenery into their social spaces whilst at work in order to enhance their mood and reduce stress whilst taking a break from their busy and often long working hours.

Outside eating areas

It is important that healthcare professionals make the most of their breaks away from work in order to recharge and relax before continuing on in a stressful environment. One way healthcare workers can combat loneliness and improve their social interactions whilst in a working environment is to spend more time socialising outdoors.

Eating a meal or having a picnic outside with co-workers is a beneficial way to take in the much-needed fresh air and also remove themselves from the normal work setting.