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Doctors are increasingly struggling to make time for their friends and family due to the demanding nature of their work, a new survey has found.
The survey included more than 1,000 hospital doctors and GPs, and found that more than two thirds (68%) of respondents do not have enough time to maintain strong friends, with work ‘always’ or ‘sometimes’ getting in the way.
Sadly, around half (45%) of doctors said that apart from a spouse or romantic partner, they would not consider themselves to have a best friend. A similar number do not expect this to change any time soon, with 43% saying they found it ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to make new friends, with just 20% saying they found it easy.
Doctors cite a lack of time and energy as reasons for failing friendships
When participants were asked about barriers to friendship, 68% said they didn’t have enough time, 26% said it requires too much energy, 24% said they have grown apart from their friends and 20% said there was a lack of communication between themselves and their friends.
Doctors under the age of 45 were more likely to say they lacked the energy to maintain friendships, with 38% of under 45s citing this as a reason compared to 21% of over 45s.
This is worrying, considered recent research by Medscape found that around half (45%) of junior doctors (45%) intend to pursue a non-clinical career, with burnout from work being the number one reason cited for all doctors considering leaving the profession (37%).
Female doctors were also more likely to say that work gets in the way of friendships (68% compared to 54% of men), with lack of time being the top reason for women (72%) compared to men (64%).
One doctor said they are “working over time every weekend”, and this means they “don’t have time or energy for anything or anyone else. Another said: “I often have to log on and work from home on my days off. Missing opportunities to meet with friends.”
Men, on the other hand, felt that a “lack of communication” was a significant reason for failing friendships. Men were also twice as likely to not have any friends at all compared to female doctors.
Work pressures are having a “detrimental impact” on doctors’ personal lives
Vanessa Sibbald, Managing Editor at Medscape UK, who conducted the survey, said the research uncovered the “detrimental impact” of daily work pressures, with just one in 10 doctors saying they had no challenges in maintaining friendships.
“Strong friendships are incredibly important in maintaining mental health and managing stress. These results highlight the broad reaching impact the medical profession has on those who have dedicated their career to medicine,” Ms Sibbald added.