In the first part of this miniseries, we looked at the indicators, effects and sources of stress and conflict in veterinary practice. In this second part, we will explore what we can do as veterinary leaders to minimise the impact of stress in our workplaces and ensure that our teams are as happy and healthy as they can be at work.
Managing demands
Best practice in managing demands (Table 1) means all your team members must be able to cope with the demands of their jobs. Consider your team’s workload: do you meet at least weekly to discuss the anticipated workload and plan for any known absences? Do you ensure that sufficient resources are available, and do you provide training to help staff prioritise their workload?
You can do this by ensuring that you review working hours and shift patterns regularly in consultation with your team. Flexible working should always be considered to help team members cope with external pressures, such as commuting routes or childcare.
Flexible working should always be considered to help team members cope with external pressures, such as commuting routes or childcare
Of course, you should ensure that your risk assessments for physical hazards are up to date. Additionally, you should ensure that you have assessed the other risks of your workplace and taken steps to manage these. For example, you can provide training to help staff defuse and deal with difficult situations such as difficult phone calls or aggressive clients.
| Leaders should: | Leaders should not: |
|---|---|
| Allow regular breaks, especially when the work is complex or emotionally demanding | Ask anyone to do tasks that they are not capable of or trained to do |
| Set realistic deadlines | Allocate more work to a person or team unless they have the additional resources to cope with it |
| Design jobs that provide opportunities for everyone to use their skills | Allow anyone to “cope” by working longer hours, starting earlier, finishing later, taking work home or working through breaks or lunch |
| Take steps to reduce distractions in the physical environment (disturbance, noise, dirt, etc) | Contact anyone outside of working hours or when they are on leave or otherwise off duty |
| Learn to say no if their team is already at full capacity |
Managing control
Best practice in managing control (Table 2) involves ensuring that all your team members have an appropriate level of control over the way they do their jobs. Specifically, this factor requires you and your practice to agree on systems that enable staff to have a say over the way their work is organised and undertaken.
You should also hold regular discussions during the planning stages of projects to talk about ways of working, providing opportunities for discussion and input. When allocating responsibilities for a project, make sure you discuss and define teams and agree on objectives, roles, timescales and how you (or others) will provide support during the process.
| Leaders should: | Leaders should not: |
|---|---|
| Allow staff some control over the pace of their work | Monitor employees’ movements in detail (including breaks) |
| Encourage staff to participate in decision making, especially where it impacts them | Monitor working style unless necessary (eg where the organisation works with vulnerable people) |
| Negotiate shift work and schedules that do not impose on staff | Ask or expect staff to stay late without notice |
Managing support
Best practice in managing support (Table 3) involves ensuring that all your team members receive adequate information and support from their colleagues and managers. Topics such as “work-related stress” or “emerging pressures” should be a standing item for staff meetings and one-to-ones. Seek examples of how people would like to receive good support from managers or colleagues or where they feel it has been done well in the past and explore how these ideas can be adopted across the team.
Leaders should talk about the ways the practice can provide support if a team member is experiencing problems, whether within the organisation or from others (occupational health, trained counsellors, charities, etc). You can offer training to team members in basic support skills such as coaching and mentoring or mental health first aid.
Topics such as “work-related stress” or “emerging pressures” should be a standing item for staff meetings and one-to-ones
| Leaders should: | Leaders should not: |
|---|---|
| Ensure staff receive sufficient training to undertake the core functions of their job | Trivialise others’ problems |
| Provide constructive and supportive advice in one-to-ones | Discriminate against people for any reason |
| Provide opportunities for career development | Allow discrimination in the workplace to go unchallenged |
| Deal sensitively with team members experiencing challenges outside of work | Insist on rigid work schedules unnecessarily |
Managing relationships
Best practice in managing workplace relationships (Table 4) involves ensuring positive working relationships and making sure that none of your team members are subject to unacceptable behaviours at work. All workplaces should have a written policy for dealing with unacceptable behaviour and grievances and confidential procedures for reporting such incidents. All staff should be aware of these and be able to access them.
Procedures to prevent or quickly resolve conflict at work should be communicated to all staff. As a veterinary leader, you should identify ways to celebrate success and build positive relationships – whether via social opportunities or otherwise – and ensure all staff (including those who may work from home or at different locations) are included.
| Leaders should: | Leaders should not: |
|---|---|
| Encourage open honest communication at all levels | Allow any bullying behaviour or harassment |
| Create a culture where colleagues trust and encourage each other | Ignore or forget staff working at branch sites, out of hours, from home or in any other way isolated |
| Agree with staff which behaviours are unacceptable and how to report incidents |
Managing workplace roles
Best practice in managing workplace roles (Table 5) involves ensuring that all your team members understand their roles and responsibilities. This factor requires that specific standards of performance for jobs should be reviewed regularly, and team objectives should be well understood by all in order to clarify team and individual roles. Job descriptions should ensure that the core functions and priorities of the role are clear, particularly for new starters or when any changes are implemented. Responsibility information should be shared among all staff so that everyone’s role is clear.
| Leaders should: | Leaders should not: |
|---|---|
| Provide clear job descriptions and defined work objectives | Make changes to job roles or responsibilities without making sure that the individual both understands and accepts what is required of them |
| Define work structures clearly so all team members know who is doing what and why | Issue competing demands (eg situations where it is difficult to meet the needs of both the practice and the client) |
| Provide a thorough induction to all new members of staff |
Managing change
An employee consultation should be a fundamental element of planning: encourage staff to have input, comment and ask questions before, during and after the change happens
Best practice in managing workplace change (Table 6) involves ensuring that all your team members are regularly engaged when undergoing an organisational change. Ensure that both the method and frequency of systems for communicating are agreed upon. Veterinary leaders should supply information on why the change is happening, the impact on staff roles and a likely timescale for the organisational changes. An employee consultation should be a fundamental element of planning: encourage staff to have input, comment and ask questions before, during and after the change happens.
| Leaders should: | Leaders should not: |
|---|---|
| Explain what the practice wants to change and why it needs to happen | Delay communicating new developments |
| Consult staff at an early stage and throughout the process | Be afraid of saying “I/we don’t know yet” |
| Explain timescales and how the change will impact directly on them | Underestimate the impact of seemingly minor changes in the practice |
Summary
So now it is time to take action! For each of the six factors discussed above, try to pick one of the “best practice” points you could implement in your role. What actions do you need to take to implement this activity in your workplace? What might the challenges be in taking action on this point? What is your first step towards embedding this in your leadership practice? Write down your six ideas, stick them somewhere visible and make a note to review your progress in a month.
