In addition, each animal also has an owner. The demands of these owners on veterinary practices have increased significantly in recent years. The animal should be helped better and faster, and at the same time, please, at a reasonable price. When pet owners have to sit in the waiting room for a long time, for example because there has been an emergency case, there is often a lack of understanding. And then there are overtime hours and night shifts and these can be really exhausting.

Stress factors in the workplace

Basically, stress in the workplace can be divided into three groups:

1. Social stress factors. These can include a bad atmosphere among colleagues, a bad management style or competitive pressure among colleagues.

2. Physical stress factors. This includes strenuous physical work such as restraining defensible animals or frequent night work.

3. Psychological stress factors. These include job dissatisfaction, fear of mistakes and their consequences, and scheduling stress.

What effects can stress have?

The possible effects range from a bad mood and a drop in performance to massive consequences such as burnout or physical complaints. It also becomes problematic when stress is carried home from work - this can lead to tensions and conflicts with partners and family. Those who are constantly tired and exhausted are also unable to use their free time as they would like, making them more dissatisfied.

Anyone who notices that they are increasingly irritable, find it harder to cope with stress, have the feeling that everything is going over their head or no longer enjoy going to work should try to change this. Of course, this is often not so easy - but it is important in order to enjoy going to work again and also to avoid physical problems.

What can I do about stress at work?

There are various measures that can be tried out. In the end, everyone has to decide for themselves what is the best solution.

1. Talk about it.

Talking to your colleagues about the fact that you feel overworked can already make a lot of difference. If others feel the same way, you don't feel alone in the stressful situation and you may even be able to redistribute tasks in a sensible way.

2. Dare to say "no."

This is not so easy. Often you say "yes" to everything as you don't want to disappoint your colleagues or you're conscious that someone has to do the work - but in the long run this leads to overload and frustration.

3. Be unavailable sometimes.

Constant availability is something that quickly leads to stress - because if you are theoretically always available for your colleagues and are often called outside of working hours, you never really have any time off.

4. Seek a balance.

Simply clearing your head can do you a lot of good. Especially physical activity in the break or in the evening can help you forget all the stress of the day for a moment, relieving your stress levels.

Isn't there also something against stress in the Inuvet practice?

Since Calmin is not available for vets, we have come up with something else to combat stress in the practice: try yoga! Conscious movement to calm music can work wonders against stress and help you relax. This way you can take a moment for yourself even on stressful days and block out all the stress.