New Report Shows Poor Mental Health on the Rise for Health Care … – AFGE

Health care workers continued to face a mental health crisis as they reported more days of poor mental health in 2022 than in 2018.

According to a new survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported poor mental health days went up from 3.3 days in 2018 to 4.5 days in 2022 during the previous 30 days. The number of workers who reported feeling burnout very often also went up from 11.6% to 19%.

Health care workers who reported less burnout and mental health problems were those with better working conditions such as having enough time to complete work, feeling their workplace supported productivity, having a supervisor whos helpful, and management they can trust. Workplace harassment also increased workers anxiety, depression, and burnout.

The survey also found that health care workers with staffing shortages in their workplaces were 1.91 times more likely to experience anxiety and 2.73 times more likely to experience burnout than those with no staffing issues.

AFGE Health and Safety Specialist Milly Rodriguez said many of the problems are tied to staffing issues, especially in health care.

Inadequate or understaffing is a major factor which employers must address, she said. Most of information is general to help workers get individual help, which is good for coping but still leaves stressed workers going back to the same understaffed workplace.

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New Report Shows Poor Mental Health on the Rise for Health Care ... - AFGE