Owning and managing an independent community pharmacy is a challenging task.
Handling the demanding day-to-day obligations of owning your own business is stressful, to say the least. And if you’re also a pharmacist, you have even more demands on your time, including helping fill prescriptions and counseling patients.
Are you beginning to feel drained from the weight of all your obligations? If so, what you may be experiencing is called job burnout.
Symptoms of job burnout include:
- Decreased feelings of accomplishment and perceiving yourself as not making a difference at work
- Disengagement, or becoming less social, and wanting to keep to yourself while at work
- A change in your health or sleep schedule. Insomnia, sleeping more and gaining or losing weight.
What you do is incredibly important for patients and for the health care industry. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, or if you just want to feel excited about your job again, follow these five tips to combat job burnout.
1. Hire employees you can trust
If you want to think less about work while you’re at home, ensure that you’ve hired excellent employees. By making good hiring choices and training your employees the way you want your business to be run, you can rest easy knowing things are under control whenever you’re not in the pharmacy. Here are some tips for hiring a great pharmacy team.
RELATED: How to Conquer Stress in Your Independent Pharmacy
2. Take a break
Stepping out from behind the counter, or getting out of your office, every once in a while, can do wonders for your mood. Taking a walk outside, practicing meditation on your lunch break or just getting a change of scenery by doing some work from the local coffee shop will help you feel well rested and ready to take on any challenge when you return to work. Here are a few more reasons why it’s important to take a break.
3. Set attainable goals for your business
Setting unrealistic expectations for your pharmacy can cause major stress and anxiety. For example, don’t tell your employees your goal is to triple your pharmacy’s number of scripts by the end of the year, if that’s impossible to achieve. Know what you can realistically attain and get your employees on board. Here are a few more goal-setting tips.
4. Change up your routine
Mixing up how you do things can make life more enjoyable. If you’re tired of the same schedule every day, consider revamping your daily duties. Offer to do a flu shot clinic at local businesses, or volunteer your pharmacy as a place of learning to students in pharmacy school. Doing new things and meeting new people can help reenergize you.
5. Settle office disputes
Often, other people contribute to our job burnout. Worrying about internal conflicts and disagreements can wreak havoc on your health. Address concerns you have with another individual head on. If you’re concerned with a member of your staff’s performance, tell him. Dealing with problems before they worsen will save you from future stress. Here are a few more tips for resolving conflict in the pharmacy.
Better preparation and mixing up your daily schedule will revitalize you and help you regain the passion you have for your job.
