Aust. J.
Rural Health (2008) 16, 117
Grazing
Primary Health Care Research & Information Service
www.phcris.org.au
Health workforce crisis: How to achieve a work–life balance
Shortages in the health workforce have reached crisis
point nationwide and staff are overworked, stressed and
tired. According to the Rural Doctors Association, this
is particularly true in rural areas of Australia where
doctors work an average of 56 hours per week, with
40% working over 60 hours; this compares with 26%
of metropolitan doctors.1 Employees working very long
hours (i.e. 60 hours per week or more) are twice as
likely to believe that work interferes with non-work
activities than employees working a standard full-time
week (i.e. 35–44 hours per week).2
The importance of work–life balance has been recog-
nised by the Australian Government. For example, they
provide support to rural doctors through the Workforce
Support for Rural General Practitioners program.
This program is rolled out through Rural Workforce
Agencies and Divisions of General Practice and pro-
vides funding to 66 rural and remote Divisions across
Australia. In 2005–2006, 53% of these Divisions
reported receiving funding for social activities, and 32%
for family support.3 While these figures allow for
improvement, they demonstrate active efforts to achieve
work–life balance in the workforce.
For individuals who are interested in ‘re-calibrating’
their work–life balance, some useful resources are
described below:
• The Government of Western Australia has developed a
website dedicated to work–life balance. It includes fact
sheets on topics from flexible leave arrangements to
job sharing to phased retirement. Also accessible via
this website is the Work Life Balance Survey and
various other research materials. See: http://www.
docep.wa.gov.au/lr/worklife/Workplace
Flexiblity/Flexible Working Arr.html
• ‘How to create a healthy headspace at work’ discusses
topics such as, ‘The impact of stress on your body’,
‘Are you coping as well as you think you are’ and
‘How can you rejuvenate and bring the balance
back’. See: http://naturalhealth.ninemsn.com.au/
News/Detail.aspx?ArticleId=8909
© 2008 Primary Health Care Research and Information Service
Journal Compilation © 2008 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.
• For professional assistance, Managing Work–Life
Balance International provides resources that deliver
work–life balance solutions designed to meet the
needs of business, employees and mangers. See:
http://www.worklifebalance.com.au/about.html
• The December edition of PHC RIS infonet was
dedicated to workforce issues. See: http://www.phcris.
org.au/infonet
Achieving a situation that allows all health workers
to realise work–life balance is critical to improving
retention and recruitment rates in the rural workforce.
Encouraging employers and employees to negotiate on
flexible working arrangements is a step in the right
direction to finding the workforce shortage solution.
Sarah Eckermann and Dr Sara Howard
Primary Health Care Research and Information
Service, Department of General Practice
Flinders University
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
References
1 Rural Doctors Association of Australia. Rural health – the
facts at a glance. [Cited 22 Jan 2008]. Available from URL:
http://www.rdaa.com.au/uploaded_documents/
Rural%20health%20--
%20the%20facts%20at%20a%20glance.pdf
2 Pocock B, Skinner N, Williams P. Work–life in Australia:
outcomes from the Australian work and life index
(AWALI).2007. [Cited 22 Jan 2008]. Available from URL:
http://www.unisa.edu.au/hawkeinstitute/cwl/documents/
AWALI2007.pdf
3 Hordacre AL, Howard S, Moretti C, Kalucy E. Making a
Difference. Report of the 2005–06 Annual Survey of
Divisions of General Practice. Adelaide: Primary Health
Care Research and Information Service, Department of
General Practice, Flinders University, and Australian Gov-
ernment Department of Health and Ageing, 2007.
doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1584.2008.00974.x