Are you having a hard time relaxing and enjoying your free time, or going on vacation? If so, you may be at risk of physician burnout.

You work hard. Don't deny yourself well-deserved down-time, and when you have it, enjoy it! In fact, here’s a great reason to make it a priority:

According to MomMD’s work-life balance survey, the one factor that best correlated with job dissatisfaction (specifically, an attending physician’s desire to leave the medical profession), was neither the number of children she had, nor her family income level. It was the number of hours in her work week. How much was too much for those surveyed? The breaking point was at 50 hours per week. Female attendings whose work week exceeded 50 hours were almost twice as likely to want a career change as compared to those who worked less.

So if you’re kicking back in your yard, resting on your couch, on a hike in the woods or a stroll in the city, and you get that little pang of guilt or, worse, you find yourself consumed by work, think about this little piece of information and shift gears back to enjoying your play time!

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