Work-Life Integration: Persistent Issues and Solutions (2023 AMW)
2023 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO Experience
The term “work-life balance” has been replaced by “work-life integration” to reflect realities that work and life outside of work are rarely distinct. New study by JAMA Health Forum surveyed 20,627 clinicians across 120 large US Healthcare Organizations between Feb 2019 - Dec 2021. Levels of physician burnout is now at over 60% compared to 49% in 2019. Optimizing physician wellbeing using novel and standardized solutions are critical given evidence of continued attrition of clinician workforce. The panel will highlight concrete examples where policies or lack of, negatively impact physician wellbeing as well as discuss ways to increase autonomy, flexibility, and specific accommodations for increased work-life integration as a daily experience. Panel will discuss challenges through current framework balancing team based goals, productivity mandates, while providing opportunities for greater individual and group work life integration. Panel will explore creating culture change to better measure individual contributions against negative biases, even punitive policies, against female gender, race/ethnicity, age, level of training, and individual core values. Discussion will focus on how to ensure adequate contributions to individual and team-based goals while respecting individual differences and life demands. Specific to female otolaryngologists, recent research highlighted higher risk of infertility, miscarriages, birthing complications, increased by older maternal age due to delaying pregnancy. During training and early career stage is when specific system solutions are lacking to increase work life integration. As otolaryngology strive for increased DEI, parental/maternity/family leave with COVID impact are examples of work-life integration challenges. Factors that erode mental/physical health will be explored. Panel will explore framework and possibility of career development beyond traditional publications and academic productivity to ensure retention, career satisfaction, and with fair compensation.
Credits
CME:1.0, MOC:1.0