Akadēmiskais centrshttps://doi.org/10.22364/htqe.2024.39 | 526-541 | PDF
Workplace Factors Affecting Mental Health: A Perspective from Healthcare Workers in Latvia
Kristīne Dūdiņa, Baiba Martinsone
University of Latvia
Abstract
Unique experiences, beliefs and perceptions of factors influencing the mental health of healthcare workers were qualitatively investigated at the close of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected by in-depth interviews with 27 healthcare professionals: nurses, doctors, assistants for nurses and doctors, resident doctors, medical assistants and managers from 7 hospitals of various types, sizes and locations in Latvia. Thematic analysis was used to identify common themes in healthcare workers answers about their mental health. The main themes were 1) work demands, 2) unsustainable workload, 3) interaction with patients, co-workers and managers, 4) individual resources and coping strategies, 5) benefits and support for stress management, including psychological help, 6) COVID-19. Healthcare workers acknowledged that some stressors are inherent to their work: acute situations, exposure to trauma and emotions of the patients and their relatives, high responsibility and difficult decisions. The most widespread stressor influencing the wellbeing of healthcare workers is overload mostly due to staffing shortages. There is not enough time to recover from stressful work. It also leads to more irritability and conflicts with colleagues and patients, there are less resources to improve the quality of work. Interactions with patients, co-workers and managers have a significant influence on well-being. Colleagues are main source of support and it’s important to provide opportunities for informal communication, discussing the work and bonding for resilient teams. Positive communication, constructive feedback and support from the manager are important to cope with stress at work, however several participants express concerns about insufficient support and harsh communication style from manager and unsupportive organization culture.
On the individual level, realistic expectations about working in healthcare and solution-oriented acceptance of the job demands helped to cope better due to less sensitivity and assuming responsibility about setting healthy borders, regulating stress at work and self-care after work. Healthcare workers are hesitant to use opportunities for free consultations with a psychologist offered by many hospitals partly due to psychiatric stigma. However, institutions with long term support for the mental health of their employees observe changes in the attitudes, more open communication about difficulties and willingness to use professional support.
Keywords: mental health, risk and protective factors for mental health, resilience, healthcare workers, workplace factors, thematic analysis.
In: Human, Technologies and Quality of Education, 2024. Proceedings of Scientific Papers = Cilvēks, tehnoloģijas un izglītības kvalitāte, 2024. Rakstu krājums. Ed. L. Daniela. Riga: University of Latvia, 2024. 564 p.
ISBN 978-9934-36-301-6
https://doi.org/10.22364/htqe.2024