Designing for those who care: supportive workplaces for healthcare staff
It is recognised that the psychosocial work environment of healthcare staff is particularly burdensome in terms of the emotional demands of being the empathic carer. The caring professions have been identified as being particularly susceptible to 'burnout' (Maslach 1996). With an increasing number of ageing healthcare staff working 12 hour shifts, the pressure of sustaining the persona of the 'care professional' over a prolonged period with no opportunity to relax or remove the 'mask' can lead to higher levels of stress and exhaustion.
A survey of 258 midwifery staff in nine hospitals/birth centres throughout England focused specifically on how elements of the built and interior environment might contribute to a supportive workplace. Although not considered a key element in the pilot questionnaire, the importance of staff rest areas was emphasised consistently by staff in all of the sites. In many buildings staff rest areas had been relegated to back office space, often with no windows or access to outside. Alternatively staff were expected to use the public canteens where their break times were often interrupted by relatives of patients.
Theories from environmental psychology and organisational stress provide frameworks for understanding the importance of access to a restorative environment in which to relax and share supportive communication with colleagues. Social support is recognised as one of the key mediators of workplace stress (Johnson and Hall 1988) while the concepts of privacy (Altman 1975) and restorative environments (Kaplan 1995) explored in environmental psychology detail the constituent elements of a supportive workplace.
6th of October 2011
