Introduction: The workload of healthcare providers has increased dramatically during the epidemic of COVID-19 in Slovenia and had consequences for other areas of their lives. This master's thesis aims to investigate the impact of workload on the quality of work and private life and the motivation of healthcare providers in caring for patients with COVID-19 during the epidemic in Slovenia. Method: We used a qualitative approach and conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 healthcare providers from the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Febrile Conditions Ljubljana and from other departments of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, who worked in intensive care units treating patients with COVID 19 during the epidemic. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and a qualitative content analysis was conducted. Results: There was an increase in psychological burden, initial fear of infection with COVID-19, and changes in employees' leisure time. We found no differences in quality of work and work-life balance according to education, no differences in work-life balance according to department. Higher quality of work was identified among employees in the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Febrile Conditions. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators were present for persisting in the COVID department, and a relatively high level of job satisfaction was reported. Almost all see themselves in the profession in the future, and more than half want to change jobs. Discussion and conclusion: Although other studies have found poorer quality of care during longer working hours, the results of our study do not show this despite a sharp increase in the workload of healthcare providers during the epidemic. The more positive results can be partly attributed to subjective self-assessment and psychological tactics that helped the interviewed healthcare workers cope better with work-life balance challenges during the epidemic. Even with the relatively good self-assessment of work-life quality, our study points to an urgent need to increase the number of trained healthcare providers. Overcoming staffing shortages is crucial for both quality work-life balance and motivating staff to stay in more demanding jobs such as intensive care units.
|