AOP launches guide for healthy, low-stress optical practices

The Association of Optometrists (AOP), in collaboration with optical employers, has produced a best-practice guide – aimed at helping both employers and employees build and maintain healthy workplaces.

The guide, Creating healthy, low-stress optical practices has been developed in response to findings from the AOP’s 2017 health and wellbeing survey in which several factors were uncovered as contributing to workplace stress for optometrists. Elements such as working under time and commercial pressures, an increasingly complex workload, and a fear of litigation were all highlighted.  

Setting out five key factors which are proven to impact job satisfaction and levels of stress, the guide is designed as a tool to aid conversations between colleagues and help create healthier workplace environments. It is suitable for all optometrists and those who manage optometrists. 

Chief Executive of the AOP, Henrietta Alderman, said: “A healthy work environment is vital for any business and at the AOP we’ve been working on a series of projects that support our members to deliver wellbeing initiatives in practice.  This latest guide forms part of that body of work which is centred on creating stronger teams and robust optical practices that enable optometrists to thrive.”       

Ms Alderman added: “We’ve been working with a number of employers to produce the guide, but would like to express our particular thanks to Boots Opticians, Specsavers and Vision Express. We have worked closely with these three largest employers to develop a publication that is relevant and can be actively promoted to all optometrists and managers.”     

Providing useful checklists, spaces to write notes and best practice examples the guide has been designed to apply to all practice types. As an accompaniment, a letter has also been developed for optometrists to pass on to their managers or practice mangers, along with a copy of the guide, as a conversation aid.

The guide has been sent to all UK AOP members in the April edition of Optometry Today and will be distributed through Boots Opticians, Specsavers and Vision Express directly to their employees. The guide is also available, for members and non-members, to download from the AOP website at www.aop.org.uk/lowstress.

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For more information, please contact Serena Box, PR and Media Manager, at the Association of Optometrists, [email protected] or telephone 020 7549 2063.

Notes to Editors

Association of Optometrists

The Association of Optometrists (AOP) is the leading representative membership organisation for optometrists in the UK. We support over 80% of practising optometrists, to fulfil their professional roles to protect the nation’s eye health. As a founding member of the Optical Confederation we work with others to improve eye health for the public good. For more information, visit www.aop.org.uk