In recent years, the issue of burnout has emerged as a pressing concern within the healthcare industry, specifically affecting physicians and nurses in the United States. Burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment, has reached alarming levels and poses a significant threat to the well-being of healthcare professionals and the quality of patient care. In 2023,
in the United States have reached new heights, with over two-thirds of surveyed registered nurses having feelings of burnout on most days. As for physicians, half of surveyed
Causes of burnout
Burnout is caused by excessive workloads, emotional demands, lack of work-life balance, and organizational factors (lack of support). According to physicians, having too many bureaucratic tasks was rated the
leading cause of burnout, followed by long working hours and lack of respect from other colleagues or staff.
Nurses also cited bureaucratic tasks and lack of respect as the top three factors contributing to their burnout. With no end in sight, it is no wonder that over half of surveyed
nurses felt like resigning. Meanwhile, a third of
physicians intended to leave their current job within the next two years (1535269) as of 2023. Indeed, burnout in turn causes high turnover rates due to low job satisfaction and declining mental and physical health, among other reasons.
Strategies to reduce burnout
The high prevalence of burnout among physicians and nurses in the United States is deeply concerning, posing significant challenges to the healthcare system. Although
personal habits can help strengthen one’s mental health, workplace measures need to be in place to make consistent and lasting changes. Both
physicians and
nurses cited increasing compensation as the most helpful strategy to reduce their burnout. While higher pay may increase job satisfaction, work-life balance is still extremely important, and even over half of physicians said themselves that they would
take less pay for better work-life balance. In the end, addressing the crisis of burnout among health professionals requires a comprehensive approach that involves healthcare organizations, policymakers, professional associations, and individual professionals.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
