It Isn’t Work-Life Balance. It Is Professional Sustainability.

Gershon Alaluf DVM, MBA, DBA Doctoral Candidate

Introduction: Why the Phrase No Longer Fits

In veterinary medicine, few phrases spark as much eye-rolling, debate, and defensiveness as work-life balance. For some, it represents survival: the chance to leave the clinic at a reasonable hour and have enough energy left to be human. For others, it feels like entitlement — a code word for younger generations unwilling to put in the long hours their predecessors endured. The term has become a trigger, dividing the profession when it should be uniting it.

But here’s the truth: veterinary medicine doesn’t have a work-life balance problem. It has a professional sustainability crisis.

Veterinarians are not burning out because they lack better calendars or better yoga routines. They are burning out because the profession is structured in ways that make it nearly impossible to sustain a healthy, meaningful career. The real question isn’t whether individuals can “balance” better — it’s whether veterinary medicine can create conditions that allow them to stay, thrive, and grow.

Why “Work-Life Balance” Misses the Point

The phrase work-life balance suggests an individual negotiation: if you just manage your time better, or set clearer boundaries, you’ll be fine. But empirical evidence tells a different story.

• Burnout and attrition are systemic. In one major survey, 40% of veterinarians said they had considered leaving the profession, citing lack of work-life balance as the number one reason.

• Poor balance fuels burnout. The lower a vet’s reported balance, the higher their risk of mental and physical exhaustion.

• The profession itself acknowledges the issue. Over 90% of veterinarians report being “very concerned” about stress in their field.

The problem isn’t that veterinarians don’t care enough about balance. The problem is that the profession too often dismisses it as personal weakness or generational entitlement. In some circles, simply mentioning work-life balance can get you branded as “lazy.” The term has become emotionally loaded, even weaponized.

At the same time, the profession’s structural realities — long hours, on-call expectations, emotional labor, and client demands — make veterinary medicine fundamentally different from fields where remote work and flexible scheduling are more feasible. When vets hear others talk about “balance,” they often feel bitterness: we can’t just log off Zoom at 5 p.m. This fuels the perception that “balance” is either unrealistic or irrelevant.

The result? Endless complaints about stress and burnout, paired with limited systemic action. Which is why it’s time to change the language. The goal isn’t balance. The goal is sustainability.

What Destroys Professional Sustainability

1. Excessive Hours and Crushing Workloads

Veterinary medicine is notorious for marathon days. Many vets start before sunrise and finish well after dark, only to take records and client calls home. Emergency and mixed-animal practitioners may be on call 24/7. One rural vet described working “literally 48 hours straight with no sleep, then back to 50 hrs during the work week… burned out badly and almost quit vet med”.

Surveys consistently find that working more than 45 hours per week, or carrying a heavy caseload, is strongly associated with burnout and low well-being. In one industry report, 53% of veterinarians named “too much work and not enough time” as their single biggest daily challenge. Work overload is not just an inconvenience; it is a direct threat to sustainability.

2. Toxic Clinic Cultures

Clinic culture can amplify or buffer stress. Unfortunately, too many practices normalize overwork and guilt staff for setting boundaries. Senior vets imply that leaving on time shows a lack of dedication. Managers demand availability on days off. Colleagues gossip when someone takes vacation. These dynamics create what one vet called a “martyr complex,” where sacrificing personal life is seen as virtue.

The impact is measurable. In recent studies, veterinarians working in negative or unsupportive cultures reported significantly higher levels of psychological distress. Conversely, positive clinic cultures — where teamwork, trust, and open communication are the norm — are consistently linked with higher well-being and lower burnout.

3. Client Expectations and Emotional Labor

Veterinarians enter the field to help animals, but client interactions can be the most draining part of the job. Pet owners expect 24/7 availability, instant communication, and perfection in outcomes. One wellness advocate noted that many vets feel “pressured to be constantly available” to clients.

This blurs boundaries and erodes personal time. A single angry phone call or social media complaint can undo a weekend. Compassion fatigue — carrying the weight of clients’ emotions on top of medical cases — accelerates exhaustion. When work follows vets home not only physically but emotionally, sustainability collapses.

4. Fear of Change and Leadership Inertia

Perhaps the most insidious threat is the profession’s fear of change. For decades, veterinary culture has valorized stoicism, perfectionism, and “doing things the way they’ve always been done.” Leaders admit that “human nature tends to resist change,” and veterinary practices are no exception.

Even during the pandemic, when telemedicine and new workflows proved viable, many clinics quickly reverted to old habits once the crisis eased. Suggested reforms — reducing hours, delegating more to technicians, enforcing time off — often stall because leaders fear financial cost, client backlash, or simply breaking with tradition. The result is inertia, even as data shows that lack of sustainability is pushing people out of the profession in droves.

What Builds Professional Sustainability

1. Supportive, Positive Cultures

The single strongest protective factor identified in empirical studies is working in a positive clinic culture. This means:

• Open communication.

• Trust in leadership.

• Adequate staffing to do good patient care.

• Feeling like a valued part of the team.

Veterinary teams reporting a positive culture consistently show higher well-being and lower burnout. Culture is not abstract; it is the daily signals leaders send about whether people’s time, boundaries, and mental health matter.

2. Reasonable Hours and Flexibility

Reducing excessive workloads is not just humane — it’s effective. Surveys show that vets who cut hours or work fewer shifts report far less burnout and greater satisfaction. Clinics implementing four-day work weeks, protected time off, or fair on-call rotations see improved retention.

Flexibility matters too. Millennials and Gen Z vets increasingly demand alternative schedules, part-time options, or job-sharing. Research confirms that flexible arrangements help sustain careers, especially for parents and those managing personal challenges.

3. Delegation and Technology

Underutilization of veterinary technicians is a chronic inefficiency. Leaders have admitted that “vets are getting in the way” of proper delegation. Empowering technicians to work at the top of their training reduces doctors’ workloads, improves care, and supports sustainability.

Technology can help as well. Properly implemented, telehealth, digital record-keeping, and AI-supported triage can offload administrative burdens and give vets back time for patients — and for themselves. Fear of quality loss has slowed adoption, but evidence shows that when embraced thoughtfully, these tools reduce stress without compromising care.

4. Boundaries and Mental Health Support

Sustainable practice requires boundaries. Vets who explicitly schedule personal time, decline extra responsibilities when overloaded, and disconnect after hours report greater resilience. Importantly, these boundaries must be culturally supported, not punished.

Mental health resources are also key. Peer support groups, mentorship programs, and confidential counseling are increasingly available through professional organizations. Yet stigma remains: many vets fear being seen as weak if they seek help. Normalizing self-care as strength, not weakness, is essential to making sustainability real.

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