How to support nursing staff under stress

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.”

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.