Survey of Pharmacists’ Work-life Balance in Japan

Makiko Iwasawa; Aya Ueda; Atsumi Nishikori; Tomoko Uezuka; Naoto Nakagawa; Miki Shimada; Toshiaki Sendo

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Survey of Pharmacists’ Work-life Balance in Japan

VernacularTitle:薬剤師のワーク・ライフ・バランスに関するアンケート調査
Author: Makiko IWASAWA ¹ ; Aya UEDA ² ; Atsumi NISHIKORI ³ ; Tomoko UEZUKA ⁴ ; Naoto NAKAGAWA ⁵ ; Miki SHIMADA ⁶ ; Toshiaki SENDO ³
Author Information

1. Kitasato University School of Pharmacy
2. St. Marianna University School of Medicine Hospital Department of Pharmacy
3. Okayama University Hospital Department of Pharmacy
4. Social Welfare Organization Saiseikai Imperial Gift Foundation, Inc. Fukui-ken Saiseikai Hospital Department of Pharmacy
5. Ohu University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
6. Tottori University Hospital Department of Pharmacy
Keywords: work-life balance; survey; pharmacy management; job satisfaction; proper workload balance
From:Japanese Journal of Social Pharmacy 2018;37(2):109-116
CountryJapan
Language:Japanese
Abstract: The demand for pharmacy services has increased recently, and the skills required for pharmacists have also advanced. Therefore, it is important to implement a working system in which experienced pharmacists can continue working full-time when they require child care or nursing care. In September 2016, we conducted a survey of hospital pharmacists on their work-life balance at a symposium of the 26th annual meeting of the Japanese Society of Pharmaceutical Health Care and Sciences. The purpose of this survey was to examine the current trends and issues of hospital pharmacists’ experience of work-life balance in Japan. A total of 84 responses were included for analysis. Overall, 68.4% of pharmacists reported that they were not satisfied with their work-life balance, and 65.8% reported that they were not satisfied with their working environment. In addition, 90.4% of hospital pharmacists reported they worked overtime, and 76.3% reported that their workload level at their place of practice was high; therefore, they could not complete their duties within regular work hours. Seventy four percent of hospital pharmacists answered that they will not able to continue working if they encounter life events such as childbirth and caring for children or parents. These results show that a majority of hospital pharmacists was not satisfied with their work-life balance, and they were concerned about continuing their pharmacy career when they encountered certain life events. As such, it is critical that each work place implement policies on work-life balance to further help support their pharmacists.