Most staff report stress part of job
More than half of Midcentral District Health Board’s staff who responded to a recent survey have reported feeling they are working ‘‘in crisis mode’’.
Other negative comments most of them agreed with included often feeling emotionally drained by the job, and being worried they would be blamed for their mistakes, permanently.
Almost half said they often did not have enough time to complete their work.
But general manager for people and culture Keyur Anjaria said Midcentral was not alone in the type of feedback the survey produced from its staff.
Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa had also used the April strategy survey, and comparisons showed Midcentral scored slightly better than most of the others.
Nearly half of the board’s staff, 1160 people, completed the survey, a response rate Anjaria said was much higher than previous surveys.
Although it was an online survey, paper copies were also made available to staff who felt that better protected their anonymity.
Board member Karen Naylor said the results about workload pressures were ‘‘not too surprising’’ and there was also positive, objective information included.
The areas with the best scores were that staff felt their work made a difference, they were clear about their responsibilities and the behaviour expected of them, people were generally friendly and welcoming, and worked well in teams.
Some board members said they worried about what happened to the work left undone when staff did not have time to do it all.
Board member Michael Feyen said having 40 per cent of staff not happy about their own health and wellbeing, and nearly one in three complaining of bullying, were areas of real concern where a major focus was needed.
Board member Oriana Paewai said it was good to have the feedback from staff.
‘‘But if I came into hospital, I would want to be taken care of by people who are happy to be here.’’
Anjaria said once the results had been fully analysed, plans would be developed to make things better both at team level and across the whole organisation.