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Posted On Jul 08, 2025

Updated On Jul 08, 2025

Top Stressors In The Veterinary Workplace And How To Tackle Them

Practice Management

The veterinary field is built on compassion, dedication, and a shared love for animals - but anyone working in a hospital setting knows it also comes with unique challenges. A survey of veterinary hospital leaders and supervisors shed light on what truly weighs heaviest on their minds. Surprisingly, it’s not complex medical cases or even client complaints - it’s the internal struggles among teams!

When asked to complete the sentence “The single most difficult stress for me to manage at work is ___,” here’s how respondents ranked the stressors:

  1. Employee / Coworker Issues – 48%
  2. Other (most commonly: negativity in the workplace) – 19%
  3. Hospital Management Issues – 14%
  4. Client Issues – 10%
  5. Business / Financial Stress – 5%
  6. Patient / Medical Problems – 5%

It's clear, from this survey, that team dynamics and workplace culture are at the heart of veterinary workplace stress - not only for owners, managers and supervisors, but for all employees.

So, how can we tackle negativity in the workplace? Here are some helpful tips shared by practice management consultants:

For leadership: 

  • Make time for team-building. Incorporate short, fun activities into staff meetings to boost morale and collaboration.
  • Recognize the wins. Acknowledge small successes—on the fly or with a system like a “kudos board” in the breakroom.
  • Use positive reinforcement. Like dog training, reward behaviors you want to see repeated with verbal praise or incentives.
  • Enforce a no-gossip policy. Encourage direct, respectful communication and shut down toxic venting.


For everyone:

  • Don’t accept or share complaints unless you’re the one who can resolve them. Redirect people to the appropriate person who can.
  • Take accountability for your own feelings. If something’s bothering you, either let it go or talk directly with the person(s) involved.

And, what if leadership is the source of negativity? Well, owners, managers, and supervisors are not immune from spreading negativity. In these instances, employees can lead by example. If you find yourself listening to a manager complaining or venting, you (the employee) can stop them and say “I’d like to help resolve this — let’s go talk about it directly with ...” This approach can help to diffuse tension and reinforce a workplace culture where everyone is responsible for upholding positivity.