The act of balancing professional duty and personal life is always a delicate matter for most people. This is especially when it comes to those who work in the healthcare industry. This is due to the long working hours, the concentration required, and the high stakes involved.
Notably, physicians have a strong desire to have a great work-life balance. Essentially, work-life balance is the satisfaction in all spheres of one’s life.
This includes professional and personal life, as well as all other areas such as professional development and recreational activities among others. Having this balance has certain advantages in that it makes one more efficient and focused (Berry, par. 2).
In the event that a physician is always unhappy, has stress from home, or his/her schedule does not reflect a balance among the many activities that take place in his/her life, such a physician is likely to suffer depression, reduced levels of performance, as well as conflict with colleagues and family.
Such level of stress and tiredness is likely to trigger an urge to change careers among most physicians. These physicians find no happiness or fulfillment from the work. Despite the low number of women in leadership, the health care industry has a significant number of women in leadership positions.
From a survey carried out in 2007, the healthcare sector had 22.1% of CEOs as women while the other 77.9% were men.
Another study undertaken by the University of Michigan sought to determine the sex of administrators in US hospitals. The results found that about a quarter (24%) of senior administrators were female (Poppe par. 5).
This new increase can be attributed to the fact that women are now having children after climbing the ladder of management. However, the numbers are still significantly lower than that of men. In this case, rising to the top requires a lot of dedication and sacrifices at a personal level.
Women have to take a maternity leave, which often disadvantages them as they have to catch up with their male colleagues. However, with the continued introduction of reform measures seeking to facilitate work-life balance for most women, the future portends several benefits to women.
In this regard, they will be able to compete on a level ground for management in the health care industry (Silverman par. 3).
Works Cited
Berry, Emily. Achieving work-life balance: More than just a juggling act. 2010. Web.
Poppe, Crystal. Does the Glass Ceiling Still Exist for Women CEOs in Healthcare? 2011. Web.
Silverman, Rachel. Jack Welch: “No Such Thing as Work-Life Balance”. 2009. Web.