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Systemic Wellbeing – What is It?
Systemic wellbeing involves implementing institutional changes that support the holistic wellbeing of students, faculty, and staff. Central to the approach is systems thinking, a framework that recognizes how various interconnected factors — such as policies, workloads, and institutional culture — impact wellbeing.
Instead of addressing issues like burnout through more individually focused interventions, such as counseling or stress management workshops, systems thinking involves addressing the root causes of stress by identifying what in the system is leading to increased stress and changing that.
Examples of Systems-Level Interventions
1. Curriculum Redesign
Restructure the curriculum to prioritize wellbeing and create better, more experiential learning environments.
2. Utilize the National Plan for Health Workforce Wellbeing as a Framework
While designed for human healthcare professionals, many of the recommendations are systemically focused and can benefit the veterinary workforce.
3. Address Workplace Culture
Employees experience less burnout in cultures that encourage work-life balance and flexibility and where they feel the culture is positive.
4. Invest in Good Leadership
Positive leaders who cultivate feelings of psychological safety, purpose, and partnership and empower their team to make meaningful achievements can increase job satisfaction and reduce burnout.
Systemic change is often more challenging to implement than more individually-focused interventions, as it involves changing long-standing institutional structures. This process requires a collaborative, strategic approach, and positive outcomes may take time to materialize. However, by addressing the interconnected factors influencing wellbeing, systemic interventions create a healthier, more sustainable environment for the entire academic veterinary community.
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