When sunlight is scant, days are shorter, and the wind turns bitter, many experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Health service workers already experience heightened stressors in their workplace. Seasonal affective disorder only adds to this stress. To handle these challenges more effectively, health service administrative teams need more robust workplace management.
But how can health management teams help their employees navigate their winter blues? With an Enterprise Resource Planning solution (ERP), health services have the power to mitigate seasonal affective disorder.
Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that occurs at the same time each year, primarily during the fall and winter months. Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal, who first discovered SAD, shares, "Although the days in January and February are lengthening, these are peak months for SAD in the northern hemisphere." Although it's been used interchangeably with the winter blues, they are different.
Winter blues is often said to be a subtype of SAD, but it doesn't have the same detrimental impact. With SAD, employees have a diminished ability to function in their daily lives. According to The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2 to 3 percent of Canadians will experience SAD at least once in their lifetime. SAD lasts over two weeks and significantly impacts a person's daily functions and interactions, like sleep, appetite, and energy levels.
SAD wreaks havoc on productivity. We've all experienced this to some degree. We wake up in darkness, go to work in darkness, and return home in darkness. Those cold, windy days leave little to be desired other than hunkering down with a cozy blanket and a hot beverage. But when SAD begins to malign our ability to work and attend to our daily activities, it may be time to seek professional help or explore strategies to alleviate its effects.
Consulting with a healthcare provider can lead to effective treatments and coping mechanisms that improve overall well-being. For many, the effects of SAD might seem manageable. However, for health service workers who are already under high levels of stress, the situation is more dire.
One study revealed that nearly one-third of healthcare workers suffer from depression, a rate consistently higher than in many other professions. This statistic underscores the critical need for supportive measures in healthcare settings, especially during winter, when SAD can exacerbate existing challenges.
ERP systems streamline administrative tasks, making payroll and scheduling more efficient.
But beyond administrative ease, ERPs play a crucial role in supporting staff of health services, particularly with mental health issues like SAD.
As Canadian health researcher Pat Armstrong shares, "The conditions of work are the conditions of care." Sparkrock 365 can gather employee feedback on office environments, track well-being, and allocate resources for mental health initiatives.
Use Sparkrock 365's integrations, like the Microsoft Office suite to send surveys to gather employee opinions and feedback on the office environment. These surveys help health services administration in gauging staff well-being. Questions can be about natural light availability, quiet spaces for focused work, and the effectiveness of collaborative areas.
Analyze survey results using Sparkrock 365's data analytics capabilities and Power BI to identify improvement areas. For example, if a significant number of employees report insufficient natural light, management can take steps to redesign office spaces accordingly.
Implement well-being training modules and check-ins where employees can log their mental health status, mood, and energy levels. This can help monitor trends and identify if and when SAD impacts employees. When generating well-being reports with PowerBI, HR can recommend different SAD literature and training resources to support employees.
Use Sparkrock 365's resource management features to allocate resources for mental health initiatives, such as arranging for additional lighting during winter, investing in sound-reduction tools, or setting up communal and quiet zones around the hospital.
Bright light therapy (BLT) has long been a leading treatment for SAD. Its daily use has proven highly effective in reducing symptoms. Recent studies, like the one from McGill University, have expanded BLT's potential benefits. For instance, night shift nurses exposed to bright light before their shifts reported feeling less tired and made fewer errors. This suggests BLT's utility extends beyond SAD, significantly improving shift workers' alertness and performance. Incorporating BLT into the workplace through designated light therapy areas or personal use before shifts could be a practical and effective strategy to enhance overall mental health and workplace safety.
The thoughtful architecture of facilities like BC Children's Hospital, BC Women's Hospital, and North Bay's Regional Health Centre shows the profound impact of environmental design on health outcomes. An ERP solution can be instrumental in managing the resources necessary to recreate such healing environments. ERP can assist in procuring materials that mimic natural textures, control systems for regulating fresh air, and the development of communal spaces that foster interaction and reduce stress.
By leveraging ERP solutions to allocate resources efficiently, healthcare administrators can ensure that elements contributing to wellness are seamlessly integrated into the workplace.
In the healthcare sector, managing time off is crucial for staff well-being. Sparkrock 365's ERP system supports how management teams handle vacation requests.
By automating and streamlining leave management through the mySparkrock system, employees can independently manage their entitlements, effortlessly submit absence requests, and receive real-time updates on approvals. This process eases the burden of staff planning their well-deserved breaks while also significantly reducing the administrative lift on HR and IT departments.
The ERP platform enhances HR management by offering personalized access to essential HR information, such as pay statements and tax forms. For managers, it provides a comprehensive view of team schedules, assisting equitable workload distribution and preventing burnout. This visibility ensures uninterrupted patient care and promotes a balanced work environment.
Use Sparkrock 365’s ERP to actively encourage regular time off through automated reminders, helping combat SAD and other stress-related issues. Generate detailed reports on leave balances to foster a transparent culture and to nudge staff to use their leave benefits. Additionally, data analysis tools within the ERP enable management to identify trends and strategically encourage time off, particularly during the winter months.
With the ERP, wellness days can be integrated into leave policies to emphasize the importance of mental health. The ERP's flexibility allows for the customization of time off policies to accommodate seasonal affective patterns. Predictive analytics could also forecast high-need periods, ensuring the organization remains well-staffed and supportive of its employees' mental health needs.
Sparkrock 365’s ERP promotes administrative efficiency, but it's more than that. It's a catalyst for cultivating a supportive workplace culture in one of the most stressful work environments.
Many organizations struggle with keeping up with varying employee schedules, requests, and credentials. This was the case for Community Living South Muskoka (CLSM) when they encountered workforce management and administrative efficiency challenges.
CLSM faced difficulties in managing employee-related tasks like vacation requests and personal information tracking due to reliance on manual systems. Integrating Sparkrock's ERP solutions, which offer flexible reporting and scheduling tools, significantly streamlined these processes.
ERP solutions help administrative teams improve employee data management and scheduling, which are vital aspects when addressing workplace challenges like SAD. Administrative efficiency and ease of accessing information directly correlates to better-managing employee well-being and operational challenges in health services during winter months.
By leveraging Sparkrock 365's ERP solution, health services create responsive, supportive environments to address SAD and enhance employee well-being and productivity. These tools provide a proactive approach to managing mental health in the workplace.
Ready to improve your healthcare organization's support system to minimize staff’s winter blues? Leverage Sparkrock 365's ERP solutions today and create a brighter and better workplace tomorrow.