Summaries of the Strategies in Addressing Organizational Impacts of Workload due to Workforce Shortage

Summaries of the Strategies in Addressing Organizational Impacts of Workload due to Workforce Shortage

The national government should be at the forefront in preventing organizational consequences of nursing workforce shortage. The federal and state governments, through their departments of health, should empower nurse educators to train more nurses to cover for the deficit resulting from retirement and increase in nurse-patient ratio resulting from high care demand associated with increased prevalence of chronic conditions. However, organizational strategies are also critical in curbing the impacts of increased workload such as work-related stress and deterioration in quality. Prevention of anticipated work-related stress and management of already evident stress requires input from the nurses and the administration, including supervisors.

Modification of workers’ responses should form the basis in managing work-related stress due to increased workload. According to Herr et al. (2018), modifications in nurses’ reactivity to stressors have long-term benefits in managing workplace stress. The reduction in depression, anxiety, and conflicts such as workplace incivility were significant outcomes following the implementation of workplace stress management strategies. Proper communication strategies, the involvement of all stakeholders in creating a favorable environment, and availability of functional social support would confer more advantages in preventing work-related stress in situations of anticipated increase in workload (Havermans et al., 2018). The effectiveness of these strategies had been shown through evidence-based practice.

Conclusion

Work-related stress among nurses is a national stressor that results from increased workload due to low average nurse to patient ratio. However, the organizational impact is preventable through well-executed strategies. It is possible to manage impacts such as nurse depression, anxiety, and conflicts through the participation of nurse leaders and nurses. Such strategies can be very specific to every organization depending on the structural arrangements. However, the major concepts include proper communication and inter-stakeholder collaboration and involvement.

References

• American Nurses Association. (n.d.). Workforce. Nursingworld.Org. Retrieved March 5, 2021, from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/
• Havermans, B. M., Brouwers, E. P. M., Hoek, R. J. A., Anema, J. R., van der Beek, A. J., & Boot, C. R. L. (2018). Work stress prevention needs of employees and supervisors. BMC Public Health, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5535-1