'Crisis is an understatement'

For the study, CDC researchers analyzed data from the General Social Survey Quality of Worklife Module. This module includes questions on working and mental health conditions and was given to respondents ages 18 and older who were employed in the last two weeks.

Researchers compared self-reported mental health symptoms from U.S. workers in 2018 and 2022. The workers were divided into three categories: healthcare workers, other essential workers, and all other workers. In the 2018 group, there were 1,443 respondents, including 226 healthcare workers, and in the 2022 group, there were 1,952 respondents, including 325 healthcare workers.

Between 2018 and 2022, healthcare workers reported a significant increase in poor mental health days in the month prior, going from 3.3 days to 4.5 days. The percentage of healthcare workers who reported feeling burned out very often also increased from 11.6% in 2018 to 19% in 2022.

Rates of harassment among healthcare workers also more than doubled, going from 6.4% in 2018 to 13.4% in 2022. Healthcare workers who experienced harassment were also more likely to report symptoms of anxiety, depression, and burnout.

These increased rates of burnout and poor mental health may have also contributed to turnover intention. The percentage of healthcare workers who said they were either somewhat or very likely to leave their jobs increased from 33.4% in 2018 to 44.2% in 2022.  

The findings in the study give "us crucial and concerning information," said L. Casey Chosewood, a director in CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the study's senior author. "To label our current and long standing challenge a crisis is an understatement."

"Many of our nation's healthcare systems are at their breaking point … we're calling on employers to take this information to heart and take immediate preventive actions," Chosewood added.

What can help reduce feelings of burnout

According to the study, there were several factors that helped mitigate feelings of burnout among healthcare workers, including:

• Good psychosocial safety climate
• Trust in management
• Help from supervisors
• Being allowed to participate in decision making
• Having enough staff
• Having enough time to get their job done
• Work conditions that support productivity

Healthcare workers who reported having these factors in their work environment had lower odds of reporting burnout compared to those who did not.

"In this study, we saw that when working conditions are positive, and where health workers are supported and have the potential to thrive, poor mental health outcomes were less likely," Chosewood said. "Employers can make a critical difference here by taking preventive actions and improving difficult working conditions that are linked with anxiety, depression, and burnout."

To help raise awareness about mental health issues among healthcare workers, NIOSH has launched a new Health Worker Mental Health Initiative. The initiative includes a national campaign that will provide hospital leaders with resources to help them identify and remove barriers to healthcare worker well-being.

"By improving work conditions and work design we can have a positive impact on health worker well-being and mental health, and retain a critical asset to the nation's health system," said CDC CMO Debra Houry. (Frieden, MedPage Today, 10/24; Weiland, New York Times, 10/24; Nigam et al., Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 10/24; Goldman, Axios, 10/25; Weixel, The Hill, 10/24; AHA News, 10/24)

Healthcare employees are confronted with a variety of emotionally charged scenarios that can produce lasting repercussions to their well-being. Organizations have typically taken reactive, one-size-fits-all approaches to emotional support that fail to differentiate between types of emotional suffering. Read on to learn three strategies to help organizations build and refine their emotional support system.