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Self-care should not be the sole responsibility of the individual employee. Organizations, service lines, and departments need to take action to activate strategies that promote self-care and reduce burnout amongst staff based on where they identify the greatest needs. 
My colleagues and I wrote this article after our pharmacy managers expressed the need for structural changes to reduce burnout. Summary of the strategies implemented, and that I have personally maintained for myself and my team, are in the . https://academic.oup.com/ajhp/article-abstract/76/14/1007/5526841
. https://academic.oup.com/ajhp/article-abstract/76/14/1007/5526841
Email Management: this is where our leaders struggled the most. They felt they had to be on it 24/7 so they didnât *miss* anything and had an opportunity to respond.
I was trained to be on 24/7, was used to it, and managed my email well. Part of the reason our managers felt this need is because myself and other leaders responded to email quickly. We needed to set boundaries and communicate expectations.
Email expectations were developed:
âEmail is expected to be responded to M-F during regular work hours.
âNo expectation in off hours, including weekends, to check or respond.
âNo expectation to check or respond on PTO.
âEmail is expected to be responded to M-F during regular work hours.
âNo expectation in off hours, including weekends, to check or respond.
âNo expectation to check or respond on PTO.
I had never expected managers or staff to respond on PTO, but because we had never formally said it, they felt they needed to be on it. Myself and other directors also responded when we were on PTO, thus giving the perception that checking and responding while off was expected.
I now turn the email off my phone while on PTO and do not check or respond. I offer my phone number for texts or calls in emergency situations and have designated someone to take my role if Iâm away for more than a week.
I should note that we already had a 24/7 administrator on-call program that rotated through the leaders. So urgent and emergent needs were taken care of. Our managers felt they had to be available and checking email even though we had this in place.
Individuals in the email To: line are expected to respond. Those in the CC: line are asked not to respond and to let the To: line recipient the chance to respond first.
No Meeting Time: 8-9 am is blocked on the calendar each morning. This allows leaders to gemba in their area, check email from the previous evening or night, or work on ongoing initiatives without interruption.
Our managers asked for more blocked no meeting zones. We decided to start with one block and let them know that they were empowered to own their calendars and work with their direct supervisor to prioritize as needed.
Instant Messaging: Use for short communication instead of email. Iâm not as good at this one. I primarily use text messages for urgent or one line questions.
Employing these strategies for our leaders has helped reduce the burnout and the feeling of always needing to âbe onâ.
While I was skeptical at first, I took the opportunity to listen and create these changes based on feedback. They have greatly helped me as well and Iâm thankful for all those who stepped up and requested a culture change.
Just because you were trained a certain way, doesnât mean you canât change the norms when you are in a leadership role. Times change, circumstances change, and listening to what your staff need is most critical.
While this was intended for pharmacy leaders, it can be applied in any industry and can be for leaders and staff.
Having an open dialogue around the communication expectations and crafting them to promote self-care is a responsibility of those in leadership roles.
