Nursing is a rewarding, satisfying and exciting career, but it’s also widely accepted as being one of the most stressful. Caring for patients, alternating shift patterns and making crucial, quick decisions can all create feelings of stress, which can eventually manifest as burnout.
Added to that, nursing staff have been under pressure throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as coping with chronic staff shortages and, more recently, concerns about the cost-of-living crisis.
“Nursing staff have a tendency to feel they can solve everything and that they have to keep strong,” says Ellie Gordon, senior nurse mental health lead for Health Education England, with more than 20 years’ experience working in addiction services, and chair of the RCN’s Mental Health Forum.
“We have staff who are really struggling, but there are ways to minimise the effects of stress, and calming techniques we can use when faced with circumstances where we feel under pressure.”
What is stress?
Stress itself isn’t a mental illness but is a sweeping term used to describe many different feelings, behaviours and symptoms. Most people can identify with the physical, mental, emotional and behavioural responses that signal we’re stressed.
“Feelings of pressure are a normal part of life and can be beneficial in completing tasks and motivating us, but recurring feelings of panic, anxiety and breathlessness among other stress symptoms are not healthy,” says Ellie.
Stress may be the result of a slow build-up of different events over a long time or it may be a series of rapid events over a short period of time. It may also be a combination of the two.
“It’s really positive that nursing staff now talk more openly about their own mental health than in previous generations,” says Ellie. “But there’s still a stigma attached to admitting you’re struggling, so we need to create workplaces and spaces where colleagues feel supported.”
Top tips for supporting members through stress
- Actively listen: acknowledge feelings and concerns and clarify what you can do, such as identifying workplace stressors, giving information or signposting to helpful resources.
- Manager support: if they have a meeting with their manager, help them prepare, ensuring the focus is on the changes the manager can make and the support that should be provided.
- HSE help: you can use the framework of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stress management standards to help them identify the six key stressors within their workplace.
- Occupational health: encourage them to contact their occupational health or employee wellbeing team to access support provided by the employer, such as counselling and relevant workplace policies.
- Further support: nursing staff can visit the RCN Managing Stress Hub online, where there is relevant information for nursing staff, managers and reps. If the person is at crisis point, they should contact RCN Advice where advisors are specially trained to triage for RCN counselling services.
Don’t forget about yourself
During stressful times, it can be easy as a rep to become focused on others’ workplace issues, but don’t neglect your own wellbeing. With more and more members seeking support from reps in the workplace, it’s important to set boundaries in your role.
A new resource, Work-related Stress, has recently been launched to help learning reps, safety reps and stewards support members who are experiencing work-related stress, and in the guide, there is advice on how to look after yourself as a rep. Here’s some highlights from the guide:
- Decide what your boundaries are and when you will be available. For example, when will you switch your phone on/off? Communicate this clearly with members from the outset and stick to it.
- Agree your preferred methods of communication such as text, email, telephone.
- Try to be clear about how much time you have when you meet with members. You can always meet again if not everything can be covered in that first meeting.
- Ending meetings can be tricky. It can be helpful to ask: “What are you planning to do next?” or “Where do you have to be now?”
- Be realistic about what can be achieved. You are not superhuman.
There are more top tips and advice in the guide for reps. Find the full version on the reps hub. We’ve also created a condensed version of this in the form of a pocket guide, which reps can order.
Further support
- A new pocket-guide developed by and for RCN reps to support nursing staff with work-related stress is available to download or order a hard copy. The guide is divided into three main sections: working with your employer, supporting members, and looking after yourself. It has clear advice for identifying stress and outlines what employers should be doing to minimise workplace stress.
- Visit our health, safety and wellbeing resources to get tips, techniques and advice to support a healthy lifestyle. You can also find information about our Rest, Rehydrate and Refuel campaign.
- Find advice and information about work-related stress, including examples of stress risk assessments, on the .
- Find out more about the work of the RCN Mental Health Forum.