Promoting healthcare workers' well-being in maternity wards: A case study on physical workload management

This case study analyzes the physical workload regulation strategies adopted by healthcare staff in a specialized hospital facility in Algeria, facing staffing shortage challenges. The objective is to understand how medical teams manage the balance between care demands and their capabilities while preserving their well-being and quality of care. The methodological approach combined a global analysis of organizational arrangements and a detailed analysis of individual and collective practices through interviews and field observations. The results reveal various regulations implemented at different levels: progressive staff assignments, adapted positions, task delegation, collective responsibility sharing, and activity grouping and prioritization. Although these strategies allow caregivers to adapt to overload, they raise questions about their long-term impact on care quality. Absenteeism, perceived as a passive regulation mechanism, also reflects the limitations of individual solutions to structural problems. This study advocates for a systemic approach integrating organizational, collective, and individual interventions to sustainably promote healthcare workers' well-being and quality of care in maternity wards within a context of staff shortage.