Workplace factors
In recent years, health facilities are diverting their focus on the role of workplace factors in enhancing job satisfaction and psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers. Past research has shown that the interaction between individual, organizational and professional factors has an impact on the condition of the environment (Singhapakdi et al., 2019). Several attempts have been made to have standard workplace requirements to ensure that employees work under favorable conditions. However, very little has been achieved, most organizations are focusing on profit maximization with very little attention to the employees’ health and wellbeing. Concerns have been raised over the alleged mistreatment of employees by failure to factor in environmental factors that would favor the operation of workers. Both local and world organizations have come forward to fight for the right of healthcare workers led by the World Health Organization and other international healthcare organizations. More attention has been given to more demanding professions like medicine where the health and wellbeing of workers play a critical role in ensuring that the patients receive the best treatment. The work of the environment of healthcare workers continues to draw attention among governments and healthcare organizations. Countries like the United States where mental health conditions among health professionals continue to rise are taking a keen interest in the matter to dig the possible source of the problem (Corner and Gill, 2017). According to a study conducted in the previous years, both the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) and World Health Organization have established five key standards that can be applied to various health facilities across the globe. Auerbach et al. (2016) believe that when hospitals follow the regulations that have been given by various health regulatory authorities, the chances of reducing mental disorders among healthcare workers. Therefore, following standards provided by WHO promotes a satisfactory environment for the healthcare workers thus promoting their psychological wellbeing.
The standards developed by ISQua and WHO are generic, they capture staff, organizational and patient management, and support. The standards are associated with the maintenance and development of hospital conditions to improve workplace environmental conditions. They also deal with the implementation of strategies for human resource management and the decision-making process. Past research has shown an existing link between employees’ psychological distress and various workplace factors such as low social support, long working hours, high employer’s demand, and job insecurity (Stainback et al., 2018). These factors were found to give most workers pressure and stress thus developing psychological challenges such as depression and anxiety among health workers. The highlighted workplace factors were found to affect most employees regardless of their professions. A further study conducted on workplace factors affecting healthcare workers revealed unique aspects of the healthcare workplace environment that are likely to interfere with the operation of health professionals. These medically related workplace factors include tight schedule, life-threatening illness and injuries, and under-staffing, malfunctioning equipment, lack of co-workers and organizational support, lack of support from the team, leaders, patients’ deaths and dependent patients.
The above healthcare workplace factors are among the key causes of stress in a health setting. Many healthcare workers are unable to cope with such conditions at their workplace thus end up developing stresses and becoming depressed. Based on a study carried out by Merriel (2018), not all the highlighted workplace factors are essential for the operation of a health facility, some could easily be illuminated to promote workers’ convenience. The researcher further indicated that some factors like the death of patients could not be controlled and hence, the only option of protecting workers from being affected by such events is by counseling. These factors mostly affect a section of employees and not the entire workforce. However, certain environmental factors are likely to affect the psychological wellbeing and job satisfaction among health workers thus require more attention from a healthcare organization. Even though workplace factors may not be affecting a large of workers at the same, they are causing a gradual negative impact on the health and psychological wellbeing of health workers. Therefore, these environmental and workplace conditions must be taken into consideration to have control over the factors and protecting the employees against any form of mistreatment. There is also a need to have a better understanding of the structure of an organization and various processes taking place within a workplace to avoid unnecessary confusion that could influence job satisfaction and psychological wellbeing of workers. Joseph and Gaba (2020) defines an organizational structure as ways through which the organization its labor into different tasks to enhance proper coordination among workers. The structure of an organization is key in a workplace environment as it determines the kind of relationship between workers and the leaders. When there is a poor relationship between healthcare workers and management, the workers are likely to be on the receiving end and they may end up developing stress. An organization should have a well-defined hierarchical structure with spelled roles based on the rank.
The coordination of workers is also an important factor in enhancing job satisfaction and promoting an environmental set up that is favorable for the wellbeing of workers. Coordination between healthcare workers and managers is equally essentially important in managing the relationship between the two groups and promoting a good working relationship. According to Gibson et al. (2018), coordination can be defined as the degree to which an organization’s subunits operates based on the requirement of each unit and the organization as a whole.
Another important factor of consideration is work autonomy. Sia et al. (2015) define work autonomy as the freedom which employees have at the workplace. It insinuates that employees have the liberty to create their work schedule and make own decision on how to conduct their daily activities. Work autonomy gives most employees peace of mind thus improving their health and psychological wellbeing. Some researchers have defined autonomy in the workplace in terms of work-criteria autonomy, work-scheduling, and work-method autonomy. Autonomy in the workplace allows workers to perform most of their operation in a manner that best suit their instinct thus reduces the possibility of mental related challenges.
There are process factors within an organization such as intra-professional relationships and practices associated with human resource management that determine the condition of workplace climates in health facilities. Human resource managers are known to give employees pressure while at work, they pressurize workers on factors such as time management, working hours, reporting time, and workers’ performance. When human resource management practices are conducted properly, it can be the main source of stress for healthcare workers. The approaches used by HR managers when handling employees play a key role in determining how the employees view managers. In some cases, employees may feel pressured and threatened by HR managers thus developing stress. Alternatively, the relationship between healthcare professionals can determine the environmental temperature under which the workers operate. As mentioned earlier, poor relationship between workers is a potential stressor because the majority of employees feel uncomfortable at work when they have a fading relationship with their fellows. People who are in a good working relationship are likely to enjoy their time together and be happy for one another thus reducing negative attitudes that would lead to stress in the long run. Therefore, both the interpersonal relationship between workers and human resource management practices are important factors that ought to be considered in an attempt to illuminate workplace stress and to enhance psychological wellbeing. According to Street at al. (2019), ways of promoting a healthy workplace based on human resource management and intra-professional relationship include communication conflict resolution among employees, innovativeness in human resource leadership, co-workers participation in the decision making process and organizational support.
Past research has shown a trend of decreasing autonomy in the workplace. The reduced work autonomy has been associated with factors such as high competition level, technological development, and increased work pressure in various healthcare organizations across the world (Carayon et al. 2014). Besides the stress factor, decreased autonomy in healthcare organizations leads to loss of control among employees particularly health care professionals who deal with lives. Work autonomy related factors lead to decreasing the satisfaction of employees and lack of concern for the wellbeing of healthcare workers.
Several studies have revealed that the adverse workplace factors discussed above increase the chances of developing behavioral and psychological problems among healthcare workers. The increasing cases of mental health conditions in Psychiatric facilities have been associated with most of the workplace factors highlighted above. Therefore, in an attempt to reduce psychological challenges in heath setting, it is important to consider workplace factors, job satisfaction, and general work environment.
Environment Stress
The environmental stress factor is one of the main aspects of an environment that is closely related to the health and psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers. The correlation between the healthcare work environment and psychological wellbeing largely depends on the stress factor. Environmental stress is also believed to cause general adoption syndrome that has been an issue of concern among workers especially healthcare workers. According to Levi (2016), general adaptation syndrome refers to the expectable way that an individual body can respond to stress based on the description of Hans Selye. He analyses stress based on responses originating from the body. Salye believed that and individual body can adapt to stress through positive or negative body response. However, Sayle’s argument was later challenged by researchers who suggested that the stressors responses came from various factors such as psychologically displayed situations and environmental cues’ responses. According to Tepper et al. (2018), how an individual responds to environmental stressors relies on the kind of association and control that the person has on the environment. The study has further indicated that a person’s control of the environment can also trigger a psychosocial response from the individual’s body.
A comparison study conducted on animals to determine their reactions to environmental stressors indicate that animals that are in direct control of the environment are likely to respond with more aggressive activity as compared to animals who have no control over the environmental situation around them; animals with no situational control may show the sign of defeat and withdrawal (Fournel et al., 2017). The same scenario when applied to humans implies that the human response to the environment will largely depend on the ability of a person to take control of the environment; that is the ability to cope up with environmental stressors. To a bigger extent, the coping capability depends on an individual’s personality; some people will have a great problem coping with stressful conditions in an environment while others will freely interact with their environment. Another study shows that in normal circumstances, an environmental interaction usually depends on an interaction that an individual has with the environment as well as their cognition and perception towards that particular environment. Based on these studies, it is clear that environmental stressors have an impact on the life of an individual just the equal ways an individual would perceive the environment. One may not be affected by environmental stressors if he or she has a positive perception towards then environment. Similarly, an individual may be negative towards an environmental situation but if the environmental situation favors him or her, then the perception towards that particular environment may change to become positive. Svensson and Aguilar, (2019) believe that very few people have a fixed or rather permanent mindset towards their environment. The majority are always ready to blend with their environment provided that factors within the environment support their existence.
Further study on the impact of environmental stressors has indicated that some stressors within the environment may have a direct impact on the psychological system of its occupant. The claim has been supported by several other studies that have revealed that when a person is exposed to environmental stressors for a given period, it can lead to immune system impairment thus affecting the health and psychological wellbeing of a person. Some aspect of environmental stressors has a direct impact on health while others affect psychological wellbeing. The level of exposure and time factor determines how much the environmental stressor affects health and wellbeing. Stress refers to a feeling of physical and emotional tension that originates from any thought or event that makes one feel nervous, angry, and frustrated. Stress does not necessarily have to be negative, it can equally be used positively depending on the view of individuals. For instance, in a workplace setup, some workers view job pressure as a challenge to work harder and deliver better results. In this case, stress has been used to bring a positive impact. However, it should be noted that such pressure can lead to psychological wellbeing, whether the impact of stress is positive or negative. According to Münzel et al. (2018), stress is regarded as a potential risk factor and harm to healthcare workers who are often exposed to harm due to the environment under which they operate. Numerous researchers have discovered a close relationship between environmental stressors with the health and psychological wellbeing of occupants. Albrecht et al. (2017) state that, “…psychological stress is a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being” Past research also reveal that perception of the stress of also varies depending on factors such sex, age, and genetics. For instance, as mentioned earlier, women are more vulnerable to stress as compared to men.
Psychological experts have gone to the extent of developing stress models to help fight the increasing level of stress in the workplace particularly among healthcare workers who continue to suffer from stress-related complications. A transactional model of stress that was developed in late 1996 has been used intensively in both organizational and workplace research. The transactional model of stress refers to a framework that can be used to evaluate threats, challenges, and harm which may arise when an individual is handling a stress factor. According to the model, stress is an interaction factor between an individual and its environment, it cannot be confined or regulated to either the person or environment. The relationship between person and environment is transactional and therefore it can lead to a positive or negative outcome. Another theory known as the Cognitive Activation Theory of stress was developed as an improvement of the transactional model. According to the theory, stress adaptation can be affected by one’s previous experience and by integrating negative and positive aspects of a stressful event. Getting an opportunity to reflect on previous experience may be the main source of stress especially in a situation where a person only major on the negative aspect of a past event. The model explains the response to an activity based on the control that one has over the environmental stressors.
The coping capability of people varies depending on the personality of an individual, some people find it difficult to cope with a stressful condition while others find it easy to get along with such conditions. The level of stress is also a factor, some people can only manage a stressful condition if the level of stress is low but as the level increases, they become less resistant and eventually give in to pressure. Past studies have focused on the effect of psychosocial stress factors with very little attention on the physical environmental stress factor. The latest research has revealed that most healthcare workers have problems with environmental stressors and the stressors are hugely affecting the outcome of workers’ wellbeing. Examples of environmental stressors highlighted in the study include organizational conflicts, interpersonal issues, and workload, lack of control, and long work hours. These factors were to have health issues and psychological challenges among the health professionals who participate in the study. Healthcare workers exposed to such stressors have reported burnout, emotional exhaustion, and health-related complaints such as sleep disturbances and headaches. Based on a meta-analysis, both psychosocial and environmental stressors have been proved to cause mental health complications that significantly impair the operation of health workers. Moreover, various studies conducted on work environment inquiries indicate that stress-related factors and environmental satisfaction influence important aspects of an organization such as the reliability of workers and to some extent the working relationship between the workers. Tremendous evidence also points out unnecessary changes within an organization set up as a possible source of trouble among employees especially where the changes involve some leadership roles. According to Huggins (2017), employees are likely to develop hatred and grudged to their colleagues who have been promoted to a senior position. The author also believes that employees promoted to leadership roles are likely to mistreat their former colleagues thus fueling the hatred between the two parties. It should be noted that any form of mistreatment among the employees could lead to stress.
Another important factor that has been looked into by several researchers in the field of workplace environment is what the employees do between the period they leave work and the time they report back. Even though most studies are focusing on work associated challenges, it is also important to incorporate the aspect of time spent outside the workplace. Furthermore, there are numerous cases of employees who only claim to find peace at work because they face a lot of challenges when at home. Stress is a broader issue whose source may become a challenge when a person operates in two environments. There are contradicting opinions regarding the source of stress for healthcare workers, some researchers have claimed that home-related challenges affect workers both at home and in the workplace. On the other hand, other researchers believe that the work environment is the main source of stress for most workers and some of the affected employees are reported to have problems even past their job working hours (Lin, 2017). Some studies have also pointed out that what workers do outside work hours or life, in general, can be affected by work-related activities. Some healthcare workers have a problem interacting with others outside work because they all carry all the work stress the outside world. With a high standard of living and pressure from families, many healthcare workers are getting pressure from both workplaces and families thus having a severe negative effect on their health and wellbeing. Based on past research, the United States is one of the countries with the highest number of health professionals with both physical and mental health problems. The majority of health professionals are suffering from stress-related diseases such as mental disorders and heart diseases like heart attack and cardiac arrest. A study by Moesch et al. (2018), a good number of health professionals from countries like the United States are suffering from a mental health condition. This has been proven by the rising cases of mental illnesses and the high rate of suicides among healthcare workers. According to research conducted in the United States, approximately 350 doctors commit suicide annually.
As mentioned earlier, some employees develop permanent enmity with their environment, they develop negative attitudes towards their work environment to an extent that they are not willing to remain in the same environmental setup even if the improvement is made. This explains the reasons why most hospitals have improved their environmental status but the rate of healthcare workers who are negatively affected by such an environment has continued to rise. In most cases, health professionals would prefer to a new environment rather than remaining in the same environment with the prevailing condition. A comparative study conducted on the impact of a new environmental setup on workers’ productivity shows that moving employees to a new building can change their sensual perception thus improving their health and psychological state of mind. It was not that some workers had set their minds in such a way that no improvement could be recorded if the workers could have never been taken to the new building. As mentioned in the previous chapter, burnout in the workplace is another important environmental stress factor that ought to be considered. Even though burnout is caused by various psychological factors influenced by interpersonal stressors within a workplace, it leads to cynicism, exhaustion, and job detachment.
Based on the reviewed studies, all the findings are pointing in a single direction. The studies show that various key factors such as job satisfaction, environmental satisfaction, and physical environmental stressors significantly affect the health and psychological wellbeing of workers (Hoboubi et al., 2017). The majority of workers particularly healthcare workers have been developing psychological problems over recent years, an indication that most employees are becoming uncomfortable with environmental conditions under which they operate. The main concern is what should be done to control the rising number of healthcare workers with mental health conditions. The first important step for solving a problem of this particular nature by identifying the sources and developing strategies of eradicating the source. This paper will determine any possible relationship between the work environment of healthcare workers and their psychological wellbeing. The information will be crucial in determining whether the work environment affects the health and psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers. The study outcome can be useful in the fight to control the increased mental health conditions among healthcare workers. Besides the expected study outcome, their positive interventions that are believed to improve the physical and psychological wellbeing of workers.
A study conducted in 2011 reveals that the introduction of positive interventions can promote health and psychological wellbeing. These interventions could be effective in alleviating the symptoms of depression to a manageable level (Lappalainen et al., 2019). The study suggests that healthcare organizations can consider the establishment of wellbeing programs in order to control the existing cases of psychological challenges and arising cases of mental health conditions among healthcare workers. It also noted that the fight to eliminate environmental stressors is well calculated and could easily end the increasing cases of psychological challenges among the healthcare workers