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Vital Signs : Health Worker–Perceived Working Conditions and Symptoms of Poor Mental Health — Quality of Worklife Survey, United States, 2018–2022
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October 24, 2023
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Source: MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report ; v. 72, early release, October 24, 2023
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Series: CDC Vital signs
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Content Notes:What is already known about this topic? The longstanding health worker burnout crisis preceded the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020.
What is added by this report? Health worker respondents to the General Social Survey Quality of Worklife Module reported more days of poor mental health and were more likely to report burnout in 2022 than in 2018. Positive working conditions, such as trust in management and supervisor help, were associated with lower odds of poor mental health symptoms and burnout.
What are the implications for public health practice? Health workers continued to face a mental health crisis in 2022. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has developed a campaign, Impact Wellbeing, to provide employers of health workers with resources to modify working conditions and improve worker mental health, thereby supporting the nation’s health system.
Introduction: Health workers faced overwhelming demands and experienced crisis levels of burnout before the COVID-19 pandemic; the pandemic presented unique challenges that further impaired their mental health.
Methods: Data from the General Social Survey Quality of Worklife Module were analyzed to compare self-reported mental health symptoms among U.S. adult workers from 2018 (1,443 respondents, including 226 health workers) and 2022 (1,952, including 325 health workers). Logistic regression was used to examine associations between health workers’ reported perceptions of working conditions and anxiety, depression, and burnout.
Results: From 2018 to 2022, health workers reported an increase of 1.2 days of poor mental health during the previous 30 days (from 3.3 days to 4.5 days); the percentage who reported feeling burnout very often (11.6% to 19.0%) increased. In 2022, health workers experienced a decrease in odds of burnout if they trusted management (odds ratio [OR] = 0.40), had supervisor help (OR = 0.26), had enough time to complete work (OR = 0.33), and felt that their workplace supported productivity (OR = 0.38), compared with those who did not. Harassment at work was associated with increased odds of anxiety (OR = 5.01), depression (OR = 3.38), and burnout (OR = 5.83).
Conclusions and implications for public health practice: Health workers continued to face a mental health crisis in 2022. Positive working conditions were associated with less burnout and better mental health. CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has developed a national campaign, Impact Wellbeing, to provide employers of health workers with resources to improve the mental health of these workers.
Suggested citation for this article: Nigam JA, Barker RM, Cunningham TR, Swanson NG, Chosewood LC. Vital Signs: Health Worker–Perceived Working Conditions and Symptoms of Poor Mental Health — Quality of Worklife Survey, United States, 2018–2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 24 October 2023. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7244e1.
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