Health Workers Face a Mental Health Crisis | VitalSigns

Health worker jobs in the U.S. involve demanding and sometimes dangerous duties, including exposure to infectious diseases and violence from patients and their families. The COVID-19 pandemic presented even more stressors. These included a surge of patients, longer working hours, and shortages of supplies and protective equipment. Health workers are reporting feeling fatigue, loss, and grief at levels higher than before the pandemic.

Study finds health worker mental health is suffering

This Vital Signs report contains an analysis from the CDC Quality of Worklife survey focused on well-being and working conditions, comparing data from 2018 to 2022. This timeline captures data before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also compared health workers with two other groups: essential workers and all other workers across industries.* Reports of poor mental health symptoms increased more for health workers than for other worker groups.

Supportive workplaces can help to promote well-being

Health workers reported fewer mental health issues when they said they work in supportive environments. Factors that may make workplaces more supportive include:

• Participation in workplace decisions
• Trust between management and workers
• Proactive and helpful supervisors that promote:
  • Stress prevention,
  • Psychological health,
  • Support for productivity,
  • A harassment-free workplace, and
  • Enough time to complete tasks.