Being a vet is one of the best occupations in the world. However, numerous studies have shown that working in veterinary practice can be a stressful experience. Integrating a wellness initiative into a veterinary practice may help to lower individual stress and lead to a more collaborative team.
Setting up a wellbeing initiative in practice is hard work because it contains many facets and will fail unless it is embedded in the culture of the team.
As with any new business venture, the first question to ask is why it is needed?
• Is the culture and atmosphere positive at work?
• What are the values of the business?
• What is the vision and mission of the business?
• Is this a great place to work in?
If the answer to these questions is already known and the responses are positive, then this is, probably, a practice that is fun to work in; trust between employees and employers is high and individuals love what they do.
Stress will typically be lower in a practice like this; productivity will be higher and employee retention will be high.
If this is not the case, then work needs to be done to improve employee trust and motivation. Before any fancy well-being initiative is put in place, the team needs to be listened to by the owner and senior leadership.
• What are the issues in the business?
• Is there any bullying?
• Do the team trust the senior leadership?
As part of a new initiative, everybody needs to feel they have been listened to. ‘Envisioning days’ for the team to look at the vision, mission and values of the business are vital. Not only will this add clarity to the business and where it is going but will also make the team feel more appreciated. This is also the time to name the values the business stands for. By naming the values, it will often become clear who in the team does not live up to or aspire to those values. These members of the team may find that they need to go elsewhere to be happy in their jobs. People who do not fit into the culture will often be disruptive and can easily create a toxic environment where everybody stops enjoying their work and dreads coming in. The team will become better at recognising behaviours that do not fit in with the business ethics and values and will feel more empowered to call them out once they have been written down. Values apply to leaders as much as employees!
Once the vision, mission and values are in place, it is a case of deciding what are the things that must be done to deliver on the vision and who will be responsible for them. Choosing the right person to take on this job is a vital part of the senior manager’s duties in defining the role and bringing the best person in to do it, a role that the team member will enjoy and get excited by.
All of these things will reduce employee stress and help the employee enjoy or even love their job.
By this stage, the practice will, hopefully, have a positive practice culture with a clear vision and an obvious road map to get there. There will be a well-motivated team who love what they do and are in a good mental state because they are enjoying their job and they have civil or maybe friendly relationships with the other members of the team. There is nothing that will reduce an employee’s wellbeing more than a toxic environment.
With these sturdy foundations built, what are the next steps to continue to develop an excellent attitude towards wellbeing in the practice?
