How CNOs Can Make the Financial Case for Nurse Wellbeing

Prioritizing wellbeing requires leadership and individual commitment, says this nurse well-being thought leader.

The term "well-being" is a broad term defined in many ways today, depending on the person and their environment.

For CNOs, well-being programs and initiatives can focus on employee mental health, physical wellness, finding solutions to combat burnout, and creating healthy work environments.

For Diane Sieg, RN, CYT, CSP, the definition is simple.

"Well-being is how you feel about yourself and what you do every day," Sieg said. "Self-leadership is making the best decisions for yourself that supports your well-being."

Sieg, who is a registered nurse, author, coach, and creator of the Well-Being Coaching Initiative, explained to HealthLeaders that nurses traditionally don't always prioritize their own wellbeing, since they are so focused on patients, families, and their communities. Nurses know what to do to take care of themselves, they just don’t often do it.

However, there are major quantitative and qualitative benefits to CNOs and other nurse leaders focusing on nurse wellbeing.

"When nurses that feel good about themselves and what they do every day, they are less stressed and  more connected, engaged, and energized in their work and in their life, which is what wellbeing can do for us," Sieg said.

The ROI of wellbeing

According to Sieg, the quantitative benefits of well-being can be found in improving retention and the bottom line. Through a pilot of the Well-Being Coaching Initiative started during the COVID-19 pandemic, Atrium Health reported a 30% improvement in stress, burnout, and engagement that correlated to a 30% reduction in turnover and $3 million in savings in one year.

There is also qualitative value in wellbeing.

"I have witnessed these nurses transform in their careers and lives," Sieg said. "They get promoted, create new positions, go back to school, and engage in and lead projects, because when you prioritize yourself, you have more to give, period."

To measure the ROI for well-being, Sieg recommended using standard validated assessments to measure burnout, engagement, stress and self-compassion. As with any new initiative, it's important to track metrics before, during, and after implementation.

"We measured self-compassion," Sieg said, "and then lastly was self-leadership, because we want to understand where [the nurses] start and where they are immediately after [intervention], in our case it was the coaching."

Prioritizing well-being requires leadership and individual commitment. Well-being initiatives must be supported by leadership as a benefit to recognize, acknowledge and value their nurses and the vital role they play in patient experience and outcomes, Sieg explained. Nurses need to commit to making changes by practicing self-leadership with the skills, structure and support provided.

The CPR method

For CNOs who want to prioritize wellbeing and self-leadership for their workforces, Sieg suggested "CPR," but not in the traditional sense of the term.

"This CPR stands for compassion, presence, and recovery," Sieg said. "It's not the CPR that nurses are familiar with, but [it's] just as lifesaving because it infuses more energy, purpose and meaning in your work and life."

The practice of compassion, according to Sieg, specifically refers to compassion for yourself. Nurses can have very high expectations of what they can accomplish in a shift, and when they don't meet those unrealistic expectations, are critical of themselves, Sieg explained. explained.

"Nurses have plenty of compassion for others, but what we don't have is compassion for ourselves," Sieg said. "Being kind to yourself is giving yourself a break, literally and figuratively, because you are human and require it."

The second practice is presence, which, to Sieg, is slowing down to experience the present moment fully. When nurses are focused on all their unfinished tasks, they can't engage with themselves or their patients as effectively, and this leads to more stress, exhaustion, and feeling overwhelmed.

"To be present to yourself is to realizing when you're overwhelmed, hungry, or grumpy, and then asking for help," Sieg says. "This focusing on yourself first, supports you to give your best to everyone and everything else." 

The third practice is recovery, which to Sieg means finding ways to re-energize yourself, not just on vacation, or days off, but every day.

"[It's the] idea of filling yourself back up, doing things that help you feel good about yourself, that bring you joy," Sieg said, "not for hours, but even a few minutes of listening to your favorite music, creating some quiet space, moving, or getting outside to help you reset and renew yourself."

Incorporating these practices into nursing must begin with leadership. 

"It's very important for nurse leaders to role model and support these practices for themselves and their staff" Sieg said. "Leaders need to treat themselves with kindness and not run themselves ragged, slow down to engage with staff, and prioritize their own recovery to support their staff to do the same."

For CNOs who are just starting a new wellbeing program, Sieg emphasized the importance of fully committing to it.  

"Whatever you start and initiate, I encourage the nurse leaders to continue, so it is not a one-and-done program," Sieg said. "Well-being is about culture change and it takes time, consistency, and commitment, but it is so worth the investment to empower our nurses."

To learn more about the Well-Being Coaching Initiative, you can contact Diane here: diane@dianesieg.com.