Breaking the Cycle of Burnout in Allied Health

We have become far more aware of the impact of #burnout in recent times. The International Disease Classification (IDC) describes burnout as a “syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been managed.” While the pandemic was raging, burnout snuck up on many of us, none more so than those in caregiving roles. 

But burnout is not a new phenomenon, despite it being the centre of many conversations and unfortunately, I am no stranger to it. I first experienced the impact of burnout on my physical, mental and emotional health before I made the leap into private practice in 2002. I was feeling disengaged with my work, fed up with the constant red tape and to top it off, my health was suffering too.

Working in the #healthcare industry is fulfilling and rewarding, but it can also be stressful. Demand for allied health services is high, wait lists are long and clients are bearing the consequences. They either can’t access services in a timely manner, or clinicians don’t have enough time to spend with their clients. When I founded ActivOT in 2012, I was determined to change the status quo of Occupational Therapy service delivery. I had done the work to prove that #alliedhealth professionals no longer had to suffer the bureaucracy and stress that causes burnout.

Over the last decade, I’ve been able to help skilled #OccupationalTherapists take the leap into #privatepractice and provide them with the tools to become successful business owners. Operating under a franchise model, ActivOT now has over 50 practitioners who are benefitting from working arrangements that actively work against burnout. As a values-led Franchisor, I have cultivated a culture of #flexibility, #community and #selfcare.

Have a strong set of values and be led by them

I’m very vocal about how important #values are to me. My values are what guide me, every single day in my work and my life. My values are what led me to become a change-maker in the allied health industry, a disruptor if you will. I wanted to provide other practitioners with the same kind of #autonomy that I had found for myself. My values lead me every time I bring on a new team member. Part of what makes the culture of ActivOT special is the group of individuals who are all aligned in their values. Each person is unique and talented in their own way, inside and outside of their vocation, and our values unite us.

Understand the true meaning of flexibility

To me, flexibility means having #empathy and understanding that every single person within an organisation has a unique set of circumstances, and as such, flexibility will mean something unique to each person. Some people are caregivers, for small children or unwell or elderly family members. Perhaps they struggle with chronic illness themselves. Some struggle with commuting. It’s easy to point to the pandemic as the cause for the rise in #flexibleworking arrangements, but the reality is, these challenges have always existed. We’ve been presented with the opportunity to see what is possible when we allow people to move away from a standard 9-5 in a set location, instead of putting pressure on workers to “go back to normal”. Understanding what flexibility actually means, is a huge part of combatting burnout.

Foster and embrace a sense of community

ActivOT has over 50 skilled Occupational Therapists, all of whom are successful #businessowners in their own right. But just because they operate as #soletraders, doesn’t mean that they don’t respect and leverage the pool of knowledge that is available to them through their peers. The OTs are part of chat groups where they share knowledge to the benefit of their clients. They celebrate each other's wins, and without being in an office environment together every day, they’ve formed a sense of trust and community.

Encourage and celebrate acts of self-care

Too often, we are made to feel that self-care is selfish. A mother might feel selfish for going and sitting in a cafe by herself to have a quiet cup of coffee and read her book when really it’s recharging her metaphorical battery to go home and feel engaged and energised with her children. An employee might feel guilty for taking a couple of hours to go to a doctor's appointment that there “just hasn’t been enough hours in the day for” when in reality their health should be paramount. Allowing people the space and grace to “fill their cup” benefits the individuals, their families and their employers - no amount of guilt or pressure should stand in the way of people putting their needs first and looking after themselves.

Allied health service provision doesn’t have to operate utilising the same old systems that only end in practitioners feeling overworked, exhausted and stressed. Investing in the well-being of everyone who is a part of the ActivOT team has resulted in balanced and healthy practitioners who are providing their clients with a high standard of care when they need it.