The Lab Technician's Guide to Dealing with Stress

Choosing a career as a lab technician usually depends on an incurable drive to understand living organisms' mysteries and organic substances in minute details. It's a dedication to seeking that "eureka" moment that won't just impress your peers but also drive advances in the life sciences, pharmaceutical industries, or biotechnologies.

The mental and physical toll on laboratory technicians and associates continues to increase, with this past year being one of the most challenging with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some tips to help you alleviate some of the stress and avoid burnout.

Five Tips to Relieve Job Stress for Laboratory Technicians

A study by the Young Academy of Europe (published in 2019) found that burnout rates in early-career researchers on a tenure-track are rising, mostly due to increased workloads, job stress, and longer hours.

To combat these effects, lab technicians need to adopt healthy coping mechanisms to maintain focus and improve their mental health.

With today's challenges, addressing mental fatigue and job pressure may require institutional interventions. That said, there are tips lab technicians can use to manage job stressors.

• Remaining Organized and Disciplined with Greater Workloads

In the most productive laboratories, a typical workload could already be challenging to get through for technicians. Add a pandemic to the mix, and the demand could overwhelm even the most resilient individuals. Lab technicians need to trust their good laboratory practices (GLPs) developed for their analytical methods in their laboratory.

There may be an urge to adjust workflows to get through more assays per day, which inevitably requires longer working hours. If the GLPs are lacking, technicians need to discuss this with supervisors and, where possible, adjust them to deal with the increased demand.

• Use Technology to Assist with the Heavy Lifting

You can improve any workflow by reducing manual processes with modern automated instruments that increase the throughput of your sampling processes. If your lab isn't embracing batch handling of samples with solutions like the PIPETMAX®, you should bring this up with your supervisor.

Manual processes don't just require more focus and attention, but they also increase your workload pressure. Adopting products that help bridge the gap to automation, like our PIPETMAN® M Connected electronic pipette, can boost your efficiencies and relieve the stress associated with repetitive precision tasks. Moving from a manual to an electronic pipetting system can save time and eliminate errors in the laboratory.

• Make the Most of Time Spent Outside the Lab

Like any other high-pressure work environment, you should prioritize self-care and enjoy your time off by engaging in activities that help you decompress.

Exercise, leisure activities, and hobbies can help you disassociate from the daily stress of your sampling life. Whatever helps you blow off steam and reset for the next shift, creating a relaxation routine can help stressed lab professionals decompress.

• Schedule Breaks to Avoid Exhaustion

Exhaustion builds up over time and could lead to you succumbing to the effects of burnout. While the urge may be to keep going and get through the workload, observing scheduled breaks and not taking on additional shifts is essential for relieving job stress. Having some downtime during every day, week, and month can prevent work exhaustion and help ensure the consistent processing of every sample.

• Learn to Say No to Additional Requests

Although breathing exercises and scheduling downtime are important, lab technicians must learn to refuse unreasonable requests from supervisors. In a highly competitive environment, it's common to take on additional responsibilities that come your way.

If you receive a request to get through more work and you genuinely do not have the time, saying no is one of the best ways to reduce stress. Instead, focus on maintaining the high standards your supervisors expect from your current workload.

Configure a Workflow that Alleviates Job Stress with Gilson

Gilson is a global leader in sample handling instruments and automation platforms that optimize your sampling workflows. We can assist with the latest tools and integrated platforms that increase efficiencies and deliver consistent productivity from preparation to ensuring your entire process's traceability.

We work with laboratories to scale operations up to process levels, ensuring you can manage your workload and prevent stress build-up that could lead to burnout.

To see how Gilson supports science and reduces the workload on lab technicians, check out these automation and analytical tools.