Make Work Work: A 10-Day Challenge to Reduce Nurse Burnout
Nursing is meaningful, complex, and deeply human work. Yet too often, nurses are asked to navigate unnecessary tasks, duplicative steps, unclear processes, inefficient workflows, and outdated routines that make the work harder than it needs to be.
What Is Get Rid of Stupid Stuff (GROSS)?
The Get Rid of Stupid Stuff, or GROSS concept encourages healthcare teams to identify unnecessary work – “stupid stuff” – that gets in the way of safe, efficient, and meaningful care.
This ten-day challenge is designed to help you:
Why Unnecessary Work Affects Nurse Well-Being
These burdens may seem small on their own. An extra click. A repeated form. A confusing approval process. A task that no longer serves a clear purpose. Over time, however, these barriers can drain time, energy, focus, and morale.
Unnecessary work contributes to frustration, stress, workarounds, moral distress, and burnout. It can also affect communication, teamwork, morale, workflow efficiency, and patient care. When nurses feel that systems are working against them instead of supporting them, well-being suffers.
Addressing unnecessary burden is essential to the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation® Quality of Life domain, which supports nurses in creating healthier, more sustainable lives at work and beyond. Making work work means recognizing that nurse well-being is shaped not only by individual choices, but also by the systems, expectations, and daily processes that determine how work gets done.
How the 10-Day Make Work Work Challenge Works
Each day offers one focused, practical action rooted in real nursing experiences. Through awareness, reflection, and small intentional steps, we can begin to reduce unnecessary burden and create work environments that better support nurses, teams, and patients.
What Is Get Rid of Stupid Stuff (GROSS)?
The Get Rid of Stupid Stuff, or GROSS concept encourages healthcare teams to identify unnecessary work – “stupid stuff” – that gets in the way of safe, efficient, and meaningful care.
This ten-day challenge is designed to help you:
• Notice unnecessary burdens in your daily work
• Reflect on what feels duplicative, unclear, outdated, or inefficient
• Identify where processes may be creating stress instead of support
• Explore small opportunities to simplify, clarify, or improve workflows
• Strengthen team dialogue, shared accountability, and practical problem-solving
• Reflect on what feels duplicative, unclear, outdated, or inefficient
• Identify where processes may be creating stress instead of support
• Explore small opportunities to simplify, clarify, or improve workflows
• Strengthen team dialogue, shared accountability, and practical problem-solving
Why Unnecessary Work Affects Nurse Well-Being
These burdens may seem small on their own. An extra click. A repeated form. A confusing approval process. A task that no longer serves a clear purpose. Over time, however, these barriers can drain time, energy, focus, and morale.
Unnecessary work contributes to frustration, stress, workarounds, moral distress, and burnout. It can also affect communication, teamwork, morale, workflow efficiency, and patient care. When nurses feel that systems are working against them instead of supporting them, well-being suffers.
Addressing unnecessary burden is essential to the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation® Quality of Life domain, which supports nurses in creating healthier, more sustainable lives at work and beyond. Making work work means recognizing that nurse well-being is shaped not only by individual choices, but also by the systems, expectations, and daily processes that determine how work gets done.
How the 10-Day Make Work Work Challenge Works
Each day offers one focused, practical action rooted in real nursing experiences. Through awareness, reflection, and small intentional steps, we can begin to reduce unnecessary burden and create work environments that better support nurses, teams, and patients.
Let’s begin. Click "Yes," under "Ready to Join?" to sign up today!
This challenge starts on August 17.
Date & Time
Monday August 17th, 2026
End Date & Time
Friday August 28th, 2026
Category Quality of Life Challenges
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