Creating a healthy work-life balance as a nurse means managing the demands of your professional life, while also prioritising personal relationships, hobbies, and relaxation.
In this article, we’ll provide practical tips for maintaining a healthy work-life balance as a nurse, so you can achieve your career goals without sacrificing your physical health and mental wellbeing.
What is a healthy work-life balance?
Nursing is a rewarding career that makes a genuine difference to the lives of your patients, as well as society more generally. However, like any job, nursing has its fair share of challenges.
One of those challenges is making time to care for yourself after a day spent caring for others. If this sounds familiar, you should take a moment to reflect upon your work-life balance as a nurse. Although it’s not always easy to find harmony between nursing, family, leisure, and other life commitments, the benefits that come from getting it right are invaluable.
Studies have shown that people who balance work, family, and hobbies tend to be healthier. This is because a good work-life balance can provide:
- lower levels of stress at work and home
- better focus and concentration
- more professional satisfaction
- more rewarding interactions with friends and family
- opportunities to pursue personal goals and hobbies
- a better overall sense of wellbeing.
Why is a healthy work-life balance important as a nurse?
Among other unique challenges, a career in nursing calls for mental focus, physical fitness, and strong interpersonal skills. Striking a balance between work and rest is especially important for people who work in health care because there’s a lot at stake.
To avoid making errors on the job, it’s important to be aware of the early signs of burnout. These can include foggy-headedness, irritability, a lack of motivation, disengagement, and fatigue. If you’re experiencing any of these issues, it might be time to take a step back, talk to your supervisor (and/or counsellor), and perhaps take some time away from work.
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance as a nurse is important for the following:
- Emotional and physical wellbeing: Nursing can be emotionally and physically demanding. A strong work-life balance helps to prevent burnout, reduce stress, and promote better overall health.
- Quality of patient care: Nurses who prioritise self-care are better equipped to handle the challenges of patient care. A recent study showed that a healthier work-life balance improves nurses’ performance at work.
- Personal relationships: In a career with long and irregular hours, having a good work-life balance creates much-needed quality time with family and friends.
- Career longevity: Many people choose nursing as a lifelong career. Living a fulfilling life outside work helps nurses sustain their passion for the profession.
How do I maintain a healthy work-life balance as a nurse?
A career in nursing comes with unique challenges, unusual working hours, and a busy schedule. Here, we’ll provide tips to help you prioritise self-care, better manage where your energy goes, deepen your personal relationships, and ask for help when you need it.
Understand your priorities
What matters most to you? Identifying your priorities is often the first step to making meaningful adjustments in your life. Once you’ve articulated what you care most about, you can concentrate your energy on the parts that make you feel fulfilled – and put the rest to the side.
Set goals around what you want more of in your life. This could be career development – but remember that satisfaction should also come from places other than your job. Be mindful of which relationships you’d most like to nurture, which tasks you can feasibly skip, and how you’d prefer to spend your free time.
Whether you’re charting a course for career progression, anticipating significant family milestones, or fostering personal growth, your priorities are your compass. They empower you to make informed decisions that align with your vision for your future.
Set aside time for self-care
Self-care is vital for maintaining your physical and mental health. To create a healthy work-life balance as a nurse, it helps to intentionally clear time in your calendar to take care of your body and mind.
Here are some self-care activities you might like to focus on:
- Clearing your mind: Gentle walking or yoga clears the mind while keeping your body limber. Additionally, consider spending a few hours away from your phone to re-centre yourself.
- Sleep tight: Sleep is one of the core elements of self-care, and getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night leads to better concentration, optimism, and general health. If you’re tired during the day, forget caffeine – a nap is the best way to restore yourself (when you’re not on shift).
- Get fit: Aerobic exercise is one of the best ways to metabolise stress chemicals. Working out helps the mind and body to fully relax.
- Stay sharp: Learning something new can give you a renewed sense of purpose. Federation University Online offers affordable CSP-funded graduate nursing courses where you can explore evidence-based knowledge developed in collaboration with nursing industry partners.
Strengthen your bonds
Having a strong social support network will increase your sense of belonging, improve your self-esteem, and keep you feeling grounded. Knowing you’ve got friends and family looking out for you is essential for happiness and well-being.
Communication reinforces your connections with friends and family, and it can be as easy as a regular check-in text. Whenever you can, make the effort to attend events, celebrate milestones, and let others know when you’re thinking of them.
Don’t forget about your work colleagues. Nurses with strong workplace relationships stay in their careers longer and experience higher levels of job satisfaction.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Everyone struggles with life demands and job stress. Reach out for help as soon as you need it to prevent yourself from becoming overwhelmed.
Learn to recognise signs of stress, and acknowledge when things are too much to deal with alone. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it shows self-awareness. If you find your responsibilities at work to be overwhelming, seek help from colleagues, managers, and workplace support. If the stress is coming from your home life, reach out to friends, or a counselling service such as Relationships Australia. Learning to accept help can be challenging, but it’s worth it in the long run for a healthy work-life balance as a nurse.
Have fun
Probably the most important tip of all is to have fun and enjoy yourself as often as you can. Ultimately, happiness should be your priority. Make sure you’re enjoying what you do, and spending your free time fulfilling your passions.
Create moments that are just for fun. Indulge in a hobby, pick up a musical instrument, or jet off on an adventure holiday. Find the people in your life who prioritise fun too, and spend time with them.
Best of all, with a healthy work-life balance, you’ll get more enjoyment from your job, and you might even get an opportunity to move up in your career.
