Years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, burnout among healthcare workers hasn’t abated. Among more than 7,000 US nurses surveyed earlier this year, only 12 percent indicated they have no symptoms of burnout, down from 16 percent in a November 2022 survey, senior partner Gretchen Berlin and coauthors note. Insufficient staffing, too many administrative tasks, and high patient loads were among the reported contributors to workplace burnout.
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Three stacked segmented bar charts display the percentage of nurse respondents on each of 5 levels of burnout in July 2022 (n=9,990), Nov 2022 (n=11,497), and May 2023 (n=7,105). They show that very small percentage of nurses feel that they enjoy their work and have no symptoms of burnout. In July 2022, only 11% felt they were burnout free; by Nov 2022 16% said they felt this way; and by May 2023, 12% felt burnout free.
Source: American Nurses Foundation, Pulse on the Nation’s Nurses Survey Series: Mental Health and Wellness Survey 4, May 2023; American Nurses Foundation, Pulse on the Nation’s Nurses Survey Series: Annual Assessment Survey, Nov 2022; American Nurses Foundation, Pulse on the Nation’s Nurses COVID-19 Survey Series: Workplace Survey, June–July 2022.
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To read the article, see “Understanding and prioritizing nurses’ mental health and well-being,” November 6, 2023.