| Abstract |
Background: Work-Life Balance (WLB) has been increasingly identified as a significant workplace issue. Emergency medicine is a stressful workplace, and achieving WLB is difficult for healthcare professionals. However, it has been proven that employees are more productive in their workplaces and maintain good psychosocial relationships when work-life balance exists.
Objective: To investigate the current state of the Work-Life Balance of healthcare professionals in Emergency Medicine, compare it with that of employees in other healthcare settings, and correlate it with their personal characteristics and the characteristics of their workplace.
Methods: Multicenter study in the form of a questionnaire (Google Forms) to record health professionals working in Emergency Departments and non-urgent care areas (outpatient departments, inpatient clinics) throughout Greece. The duration of the study was from June to September 2023. In addition, the following were recorded: employee demographics, professional status, Department of Labor. Health professionals answered questions regarding their job satisfaction and personal life. The questionnaire was weighted in a sample of 30 people. We used chi-square and correlation analysis with Spearman's rho for data analysis, with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons.
Results: The sample consisted of 312 health professionals, of which 78.8% were women, 53.5% were married, and 55.8% had at least one child. 58% were nurses, 21.2% residents, and 13.1% specialized doctors. 71.4% of participants reported less than 10 years of work. 63.8% of the sample worked in a clinic or regular clinic, and 36.2% in an emergency room. No differences were observed in any of the parameters studied between professionals working in the ED and those working in other departments. 70% of health workers said they had insufficient time for themselves and their families, half said work hindered starting a family, and 73% had visited a mental health professional. 77.6% reported health problems related to work, and in 15.2%, the discomforts are daily. 76.9% reported sleeping less than 7 hours daily, and 73.1% reported poor sleep quality. 77.6% reported receiving complaints from their family about their working hours. 68.9% reported reduced pleasure, 70.2% poor psychology, and 76.3% that their work affects their diet. 83.0% stated that the staff in their workplace is insufficient, causing them to perform tasks out of their job description (90.1%) and work extra hours (54.5%). 54.2% reported not being paid for these additional hours. 76.3% reported making a mistake due to fatigue (44.8%). 23.2% reported sexual harassment by patients (61.4%) or by partners (53.9%). 84.3% reported that they are not adequately paid, resulting in 26.0% working extra work to make ends meet. Finally, 52.6% of employees said they think often or daily about changing work departments, and 26.6% about changing professions. Conclusions: Achieving a work-life balance is difficult for healthcare workers in Greece, regardless of whether they work in the Emergency Department or other hospital departments. Currently, healthcare workers in Greek hospitals have a severely disturbed work-life balance, which can explain the current wave of resignations from the National Health System.
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