After working for years in the same field, a sense of drudgery and negativity can begin to take over your daily attitude. This attitude can lead to a mid-career meltdown as you realize this may not be the exact path you always wanted or you are not fulfilling the dreams you had at the start of your career.  It is safe to say that it happens to everyone at some point or another in their professional life. Maybe you see a coworker who seems fulfilled or a family member who has changed jobs and claims to have a new lease on life. Sometimes a drastic change will work but for most in the healthcare field, you’ve worked too hard to reach this point to just throw it all away.

3 Ways to Reduce

the Risk of a Mid-Career Meltdown

1. Increase your education. You’ve heard the saying, “if you don’t like it, change it” and that applies to your professional life as well as in your personal life. As a nurse, you can choose to work in a certain area of specialty and for many nurses, this is an area in which they are truly passionate such as pediatrics, labor and delivery, or a variety of other departments but these take advanced education and training. Maybe you don’t need to change your career but rather find an area that feeds your passion and is part of the reason you became a nurse.
2. Network with others in your field. Sometimes when a nurse feels isolated at work, they can begin to feel depressed. After all, day in and day out with people who are sick can wear on your emotions and sometimes losing a patient can be difficult to process without the help of others who understand. Your non-nurse family and friends won’t understand yet you need to have the ability to vent and talk about work with those who understand. As you network, you may even see how other facilities operate and realize yours is better or worse and you can make an educated choice to change locations or change your attitude.
3. Do your best to improve. You may not be able to change your entire department but what if you made an effort with your immediate team?  The workplace can change and the results can be positive for your career. When the time comes around for a team leader position or other leadership option, you could be considered due to the changes you implemented. Your career can take an upward turn when you decide to stop being complacent and work on improving your surroundings.

Your career starts and ends with you and your attitude. While it’s normal to feel frustrated with the professional direction of your life, it is up to you to change it. It could something as simple as asking for a schedule change or something more complex such as transferring to another facility, but whatever you decide to do, meltdowns will not help your career and you should take the necessary steps to reduce the possibility.

It’s the time of year when people begin to think about getting into better shape and improving their overall health. Maybe it’s been a long year of illness and injury, or you’re just tired of feeling tired and lacking confidence. If your employees are expressing a desire to improve their health, as their employer, what can you do to help? This time of the year can be a great season to evaluate your employee health and wellness program to ensure it is meeting the needs of your staff. If you have a wellness plan, consider what you can do to improve it and even ask those who take advantage of it what they would like to see in the program. You may be promoting a feature that no one in your organization needs or wants; save your money and resources by utilizing only certain health and wellness features.

Is it Time to Start a Health and Wellness Program?

Regardless of any desire expressed by your employees, helping them achieve a healthy lifestyle is a gift you can give to them. If you don’t know where to start, begin by thinking as an employee and implement the ideas. Here are some to get you started:

1. Keep a well-stocked break room. Healthy snacks don’t have to be expensive. Buying the items in bulk can save money as well as provide wellness. Things like bottled water, baked chips and pretzels, mixed nuts, and even fruit can be bought for a reasonable price. Employees will perform better when they are happy and healthy. Physical issues like dehydration, hunger, and sugar spikes can wreak havoc on your productivity in its own way.
2. Allow employees to work standing up at their desks or create breaks for the various teams. You can’t have the entire team on a break but encouraging each member to stand up, walk around, even get some fresh air will go far for their mental clarity and overall health.
3. Promote exercise or at least breaks throughout the day. From a Ping-Pong table to darts, this is one area that can be fun and inexpensive. Simple games lend the ability for team growth in a short amount of time. Think about how encouraging it would be for a team to play a quick game while brainstorming or they can talk a walk while coming up with the next big thing.

As the person in charge of the company, you are responsible for what happens on the inside. It is up to you to help promote health and wellness. In other words, if you want healthy, happy employees, you can make it happen with a positive attitude and allowance for things that help improve your employees. That will, in turn, increase productivity and your business will thrive.

If you want more information about how to implement a wellness program or to work in a facility with a top-notch program, contact the professionals at Pinnacle Workforce. Not only can you be healthier, you can achieve your personal and career goals.