Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

What medicine can learn from the antiwork movement

Brendan James Flanagan, MD
Physician
November 26, 2021
Share
Tweet
Share

A record number of Americans are choosing to quit their jobs. This phenomenon has been termed The Great Resignation by economists. The reasons for the Great Resignation are multifactorial and a subject of great debate, but some insight can be gleaned from the rise of a movement that has been called ‘antiwork’. This movement is probably best embodied by the immensely popular /antiwork Reddit forum, where aggrieved employees share stories of telling off their bosses and quitting their thankless jobs. Antiwork means different things to different people, with some advocating for the radical abolition of work altogether and others proposing a more modest reevaluation of the role that work ought to play in our lives. However, one unifying theme is that workers are feeling underappreciated, underpaid, and just plain tired of their jobs.

At first glance, the profession of medicine seems antithetical to the antiwork movement. Many in health care would attribute their current levels of success specifically to an ethos of hard work. When asked what drew them into their chosen careers, doctors and nurses will frequently cite a deep desire to care for their patients and a willingness to work as hard as it takes to provide excellent care. But antiwork is not necessarily synonymous with laziness or apathy. Rather, antiwork is about challenging our preconceived notions about our careers’ role in our lives.

Doctors and nurses are not by any means low-wage workers when compared with labor in the service industry. However, many in health care would probably agree that their work/life balance is dangerously skewed in the direction of work. Health care workers often put in hours that other professions would consider inhumane. Long shifts, overnight call, and working on weekends and holidays when most other people are enjoying time at home all comes with the territory of a career in medicine. Much of the work involves caring for patients in states of profound suffering who require constant attentiveness in high-stakes environments. As such, our work often exacts a profound toll on our own physical and mental health. Part of this toll may simply be an inevitability for any career that involves caring for the sick and dying, but part of the burden could also be alleviated by better staffing, more humane work hours, and other interventions that our profit-driven health care system is reluctant to make.

COVID exacerbated these underlying problems and brought them to a breaking point for many in medicine. For much of the pandemic, nurses and doctors were forced to work overtime without adequate PPE. Bedside care providers were quite literally risking their own health and safety to perform this job. Despite being given the dubious honorific of “health care heroes,” many health care workers did not see an increase in pay or benefits that they considered to be commensurate with their sacrifice. Many were actually furloughed or had their pay reduced as health care systems reeled from the blow of lost revenue from canceling elective procedures and clinics. While the health care system is recovering financially, the workers who actually provide care are, like everyone else, demoralized and exhausted.

For all these reasons, medicine has not been spared from the Great Resignation. So many RNs have already left their jobs that it has created an acute nursing shortage. Health care workers of all types will describe a pervasive environment of low morale and high burnout. This comes when many health care systems across the country are still feeling the strain of COVID-19 cases and need qualified health care providers more than ever. The combination of low supply and high demand for certain health care professions will likely lead to more bargaining power for individual workers.

The classic thinking has always been that a career in medicine is more than just a job; it is a passion, a calling, an anchor of identity. There is a pervasive stigma in medicine against the self-advocacy of the worker. Bedside care providers who push back against their work/life imbalance are often made to feel guilty for putting themselves before their patients. Antiwork challenges those assumptions and inspires health care workers to reevaluate what role they want their jobs to play in their lives. The empathy and work ethic that inspired most of us to choose a career in medicine are not inexhaustible resources, and they should not be treated as such. Doctors and nurses can and should use their newfound bargaining power to demand better compensation, improved working conditions, and protected time to enjoy life outside of the hospital or clinic. The past year of working in medicine has been so enormously challenging that it has caused many to question how much we are willing to sacrifice for our jobs. This is a painful but necessary process. Learning from some of the lessons of antiwork can hopefully help us find a new balance that still allows us to care for our patients while taking better care of ourselves.

Brendan James Flanagan is an emergency physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Doctoring during Kyle Rittenhouse's acquittal

November 26, 2021 Kevin 5
…
Next

Grieving our collective loss with compassion [PODCAST]

November 26, 2021 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Doctoring during Kyle Rittenhouse's acquittal
Next Post >
Grieving our collective loss with compassion [PODCAST]

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Brendan James Flanagan, MD

  • How COVID-19 strained the relationship between patients and health care workers

    Brendan James Flanagan, MD

Related Posts

  • What medicine can learn from a poem

    Thomas L. Amburn
  • Digital advances in the medical aid in dying movement

    Jennifer Lynn
  • The #MeToo movement in medicine can’t come too soon

    Heather Hansen, JD
  • Residents need to learn medicine, not how to pass a test

    Eric W. Toth, DO
  • How social media can advance humanism in medicine

    Pooja Lakshmin, MD
  • What health reform can learn from United Airlines

    Brian C. Joondeph, MD

More in Physician

  • Implementing value-based telehealth pain management and substance misuse therapy service

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • How an insider advocate can save a loved one

    Chrissie Ott, MD
  • A powerful story of addiction, strength, and redemption

    Ryan McCarthy, MD
  • Why reforming medical boards is critical to saving patient care

    Kayvan Haddadan, MD
  • Why heart and brain must work together for love

    Felicia Cummings, MD
  • How pain clinics contribute to societal safety

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Love, birds, and fries: a story of innocence and connection

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • How a doctor defied a hurricane to save a life

      Dharam Persaud-Sharma, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Why primary care needs better dermatology training

      Alex Siauw | Conditions
    • Why physician strikes are a form of hospice

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Reframing self-care as required maintenance for physicians [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Focusing on well-being versus wellness: What it means for physicians (and their patients)

      Kim Downey, PT & Nikolai Blinow & Tonya Caylor, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Reframing self-care as required maintenance for physicians [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden dangers of over-the-counter weight-loss supplements

      STRIPED, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Conditions
    • Implementing value-based telehealth pain management and substance misuse therapy service

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • How an insider advocate can save a loved one

      Chrissie Ott, MD | Physician
    • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

      Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA | Tech
    • A powerful story of addiction, strength, and redemption

      Ryan McCarthy, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Love, birds, and fries: a story of innocence and connection

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • How a doctor defied a hurricane to save a life

      Dharam Persaud-Sharma, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Why primary care needs better dermatology training

      Alex Siauw | Conditions
    • Why physician strikes are a form of hospice

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Reframing self-care as required maintenance for physicians [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Focusing on well-being versus wellness: What it means for physicians (and their patients)

      Kim Downey, PT & Nikolai Blinow & Tonya Caylor, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Reframing self-care as required maintenance for physicians [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden dangers of over-the-counter weight-loss supplements

      STRIPED, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Conditions
    • Implementing value-based telehealth pain management and substance misuse therapy service

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • How an insider advocate can save a loved one

      Chrissie Ott, MD | Physician
    • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

      Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA | Tech
    • A powerful story of addiction, strength, and redemption

      Ryan McCarthy, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

What medicine can learn from the antiwork movement
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...