In September 2023, the world of work faced the reality of toxic work environments, discussed the 85% productivity rule within the workplace, and confronted the news of record-high sickness absences in the UK. This article takes a deeper look into these topics, and their impact on healthcare organisations.
Toxic leadership and work environment
In September, allegations emerged that the workplace environment from Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show was “toxic”, with reports alleging that staff even had ‘crying rooms’ that they had designated to release their negative emotions as a result of their working environment.
Ensuring a non-toxic work environment and positive leadership is crucial for organisations, especially those within the healthcare industry. Healthcare professionals have a responsibility to their patients to provide safe and effective care, and this can be compromised if they themselves feel unsafe and unhappy due to a toxic work environment. A supportive environment supports healthcare professionals to have better mental wellbeing, feel safe to ask for assistance when required, and overall improve their satisfaction within their role.
By not addressing any issues associated with toxic leadership or work environments, you can open up your organisation to potential reputational, legal, or financial damages. This can occur if unhappy employees go to tribunal over perceived discriminatory behaviours they have faced as a result of a toxic workplace, such as potential sexism, racism, or homophobia.
Toxic work environments can also spread to and influence your patients’ experience within your organisation. For example, patients may overhear inappropriate discussions about the management of a practice or see the effects of it on the staff there, such as obvious sign of stress. This can lead the patient to have a negative opinion of management, the staff, or even the organisation itself, which only serves to further damage its reputation.
The 85% productivity rule
One topic discussed in the world of work last month was the 85% productivity rule. This rule suggests that giving a task 85% effort, rather than maxing out, can lead to better work outcomes and improved well-being, preventing burnout and low morale. As the 2022 NHS workforce showed, more than a third of healthcare workers feel like they are burned-out at work. This can then lead to healthcare professionals becoming stressed, fatigued, and less productive within their roles, leaving themselves open to deteriorating mental health and less effective patient care.
Work-related burnout has become a major issue, and there is a growing movement against hustle culture, promoting the idea of doing enough to stay productive, but without overexertion. Operating at 85% is seen as a potential method to balance productivity and self-care and also encourages managers and leaders to promote their employees working ‘smarter’ and not ‘harder’. This can also be beneficial from an organisational standpoint, as it maximises productivity within this 85%, most likely increasing overall output and decreasing demotivation and burnout from staff.
Sickness absence hits record high
A survey conducted by the CIPD and Simplyhealth found that UK employees took 7.8 days of sick leave over the past year – making it the highest rate in over 10 years. The data also showed that stress-related absences in organisations decreased slightly from 79% during the pandemic to 76% in the past year, proving that mental ill-health and stress are still significant contributors to long-term absence, despite the pandemic being a less prevalent issue. However, the cost-of-living crisis is potentially exacerbating these issues, especially with Nuffield Health’s 2023 Healthier Nation Index reporting that 59% of individuals believe that this current cost-of-living crisis has had a negative impact on their mental health and wellbeing.
Short-term absence is primarily due to minor illnesses, musculoskeletal injuries, and mental health problems, with 37% of organisations still considering COVID a significant cause. To address these concerns, employers should look to help reduce sickness absences, such as reviewing your organisation’s sickness absence policies and communicating these effectively with staff and look at monitoring workers’ stress levels, amongst other things.
