Working too much?
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy...It should be “makes Jack a dead boy,” says the latest contribution to the literature of overwork, this one from the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization.”
New York Times editorial, 5/29/21
No, it’s *not* just you.
Around the world, headlines carried the May 17 release of the WHO/ILO report on the morbidity and mortality associated with excessive work. Workers who worked more than 55 hours a week carried an excess risk of heart disease (RR 1.17) and stroke (RR 1.33). WHO/ILO estimates that up to 2.1% of the US population works over 55 hours a week.
Even more so than the general US working population, vast numbers of us in our professions are overworkers. So how bad is it? What percentage of our colleagues are overworking? According to the Physicians Foundation, 26.1% of Doctors and 13% of APRNs work 51-60 hours a week. And, 37.3% of Doctors and 11% of APRNs work more than 61 hours a week.
For nurses in particular, these numbers don’t tell the whole story: while nurses have may have an enviable schedule of 3 12-hour shifts a week, in truth many RNs are not done after they clock out. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, nearly 20% of RNs have a second job.
This level of overwork is not a surprise. We work in fields that reward overwork. Our institution is compensated by volume and complexity of the work, so more work means more revenue. Financial incentives support overwork: and as many of us emerge from school with huge student loans, or if we have families, the temptation is to overwork.
The price we’re paying is too high.
We know that burnout among health care workers is at a record high following the epidemic – a result of overwork. The stress of overwork can reduce your overall level of fitness, causing you to eat poorly, not exercise adequately (or stress your body by exercising too hard during the few available hours you may have), and not get enough rest and sleep. Weight gain, high cholesterol levels, poor circulation, heart problems, inability to concentrate, and a variety of mental health issues like depression and anxiety are just a few of the serious consequences of overwork.
In the most extreme scenario, the result is death. The Japanese even have a word for it: karoshi is literally death from overwork.
Guess what?
It doesn’t have to be this way.
How do we document this phenomenon and meaningfully change overwork? Can we participate in process improvements? Can we look at benefits to prevent us coming out of school with loans or looking for second jobs to support our families? Can we support individuals to become more efficient?
Finally, as a confirmed workaholic myself, how do we support providers to change their emotional relationship to work so that we stop rewarding ourselves for taking on too much?
To solve these challenges, to reclaim our lives and our health, let us begin. Let the ingenuity flow. Let the work commence. And - let all our efforts be a part of the normal work week and not after hours!