A new approach is needed to tackle high levels of burnout among healthcare workers, a new report from the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) has concluded.
‘Burnout in healthcare: risk factors and solutions,’ details professional recommendations including tackling the root causes of burnout such as more manageable workloads, improving people’s ability to cope including peer support, and person-centred treatment.
Shocking figures recently showed that NHS England experienced an absence rate of 5.6% in 2022, the equivalent of losing nearly 75,000 staff to illness, often caused by burnout. In addition, 170,000 staff have left - or are planning to leave - the NHS due to stress and workload pressures. Research data further shows that those working in healthcare are particularly prone to experiencing burnout.
According to the 2022 NHS workforce survey, more than a third of healthcare staff report feel burned-out at work, with staff in clinical roles found to be most vulnerable. Further data shows that 54% of doctors displayed signs of emotional exhaustion, and nearly 40% of nurses ‘often’ or ‘always’ felt burned-out at work.
Burnout is not a medical condition, but a state of physical and emotional exhaustion caused by excessive, prolonged and untreated interpersonal workplace stress. It occurs when individuals become emotionally exhausted, cynical and disengaged from the job and feel a sense of ineffectiveness and loss of purpose. It can have wide-ranging, damaging effects on workers' health, job performance and quality of life, and is extremely costly for the healthcare sector.
This evidenced report recommends primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions throughout the healthcare sector to protect employees against burnout and enable those returning from absence because of the condition to do so effectively and safely.
• Primary level interventions are those that tackle the root causes of burnout. It is crucial to ensure workload is manageable, adequate support is available, leadership is compassionate, inclusive and ethical, and staff are recognised and rewarded for their work and achievements. Training managers to support the wellbeing of their staff, identify early signs of burnout and encourage help-seeking are also particularly important.
• Secondary level interventions focus on improving people’s ability to cope with the challenging aspects of their roles. Particularly effective strategies include enhancing opportunities for peer support, promoting self-compassion and self-care, providing training in a range of stress management tools, and helping staff maintain a healthy balance between their work and personal life.
• Tertiary level interventions focus on treatment and encourage a safe and healthy return to work. These include taking a person-centred approach to identifying the factors that contributed to burnout and taking appropriate steps to address them.
With burnout being such a pressing issue in healthcare, occupational health, the specialist and expert field of health and wellbeing at work, will be a crucial part of the solution.
The UK has specially trained occupational health professionals, but SOM believes more investment is needed to expand this workforce through the new workforce plan, and is calling for universal occupational health access for everyone.
CEO of the Society of Occupational Medicine, Nick Pahl, says: “This new report outlines in detail why universal occupational health is so important in fighting burnout in healthcare. The NHS workforce plan’s aim is to reduce the overall leaver rate for NHS-employed staff from 9.1% (2022) to between 7.4% and 8.2% over the next 15 years. This can only occur by investing in occupational health - reversing burnout, tackling root causes, so that NHS staff can return to work well. SOM is committed to working with Government and the NHS to meet these challenges head-on.”
Professor Gail Kinman, the author of the report, adds: “Burnout is an extremely serious matter that impacts workplaces across Britain, but it is a particular problem in healthcare settings. We know that doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals are more likely than most to experience burnout and therefore it is vitally important that we take urgent action. There are compelling reasons for organisations to support the wellbeing of their employees. This report, which brings together a wealth of research and findings, recommends the real and practical steps that they can take in the fight against burnout to ensure healthcare staff remain healthy and motivated and that recruitment and retention are improved.
