Healthcare worker burnout didn’t end with COVID. Here’s why doctors and nurses are still struggling mentally, what actually helps, and how Delon Health supports safer, saner care.

The corridor was quiet, but her mind wasn’t. 

It was 3:17 a.m. on a surgical ward. Chika, a nurse who had worked all through the COVID surges, leaned against the medication trolley for just a moment. The ward lights were dim, the monitors hummed, and her phone buzzed with yet another message about staff shortages. She had already missed lunch and dinner. A junior doctor had just snapped at her, a patient’s relative was angry about delays, and she still had documentation and billing notes to finish before the morning shift arrived. 

She remembered the applause outside the hospital during the pandemic, the “healthcare heroes” banners, the promises that things would get better. But four years later, the wards were still full, the rota still stretched, and the paperwork somehow worse. The clapping had stopped. The exhaustion had not. 

When she finally reached home at 9 a.m., she scrolled through her phone and saw an article about “healthcare worker burnout.” She paused. The word sounded neat and clinical. What she felt was more complicated: anger, numbness, sadness, and a heavy sense that she had nothing left to give. 

Chika’s story is fictional, but only in name. Across the world, healthcare workers tell similar stories: long shifts, chronic understaffing, paperwork that eats into patient time, emotional trauma, low pay, and the sense that the system they serve is slowly wearing them down. 

The question is no longer whether burnout and mental health struggles exist in healthcare. The evidence is overwhelming. The question now is how we heal the people who spend their days and nights healing everyone else. 

Burnout after the pandemic: a crisis beneath the surface 

The World Health Organization estimates that at least a quarter of health and care workers reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, or burnout between January 2020 and April 2022. And that is likely a conservative figure. Regional reviews in Europe now describe health worker anxiety, depression, and burnout as major drivers of a broader workforce crisis, with staff leaving early or reducing their hours. 

In the United States, the Surgeon General has issued multiple advisories warning that health worker burnout is not just a staff wellbeing issue, it is a direct threat to the functioning of the health system and to patient safety. Survey data from 2025 show that burnout among health workers has fallen slightly from peak pandemic levels but remains stubbornly high, particularly for those who cannot telework or rely heavily on in-person care. 

In the UK, newly released figures show that NHS staff took over 620,000 sick days for mental health reasons in a single month in 2025; driven by depression, and stress. Mental health has become the leading cause of absence, accounting for nearly a third of all sick days. 

The pandemic did not create healthcare worker burnout; it exposed and intensified it. Frontiers in public health research describes burnout as a global issue that was already emerging before COVID-19, then surged through the pandemic with well-documented spikes in depression, anxiety, and PTSD among frontline staff. 

Now, in a so-called post-pandemic world, many health systems are trying to catch up on backlogs, manage new waves of chronic disease, and cope with staffing shortages, all while their workforce is still emotionally and physically drained. The night shift never really ended. 

What burnout really is and isn’t 

Burnout is more than being tired or having a bad week. The World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) defines burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, characterised by three dimensions: 

feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion 

increased mental distance from one’s job, or negativity or cynicism related to it 

reduced professional efficacy  

It is recognised as an occupational phenomenon, not a personal weakness. In healthcare, those three dimensions show up in very human ways. A doctor may find it harder to feel empathy for patients. A nurse may dread going in for another shift. A physiotherapist may start making small mistakes because they simply cannot concentrate anymore. 

Burnout also sits on a spectrum. Some staff report mild symptoms that ebb and flow with workload. Others experience severe emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and a sense of profound failure. A 2025 study of healthcare professionals after COVID policy shifts found that around 17% had severe burnout, with nurses and those working longer hours at particularly high risk. 

Importantly, burnout often coexists with mental health disorders like depression and anxiety but is not identical to them. The U.S. Surgeon General notes that burnout is associated with increased risk of mental health challenges, but it is fundamentally about the relationship between the worker and the workplace.  

When we talk about healthcare worker burnout, we are not talking about individuals who are too weak or not resilient enough. We are talking about people working in systems that repeatedly ask too much and give too little in return. 

Why healthcare workers are burning out 

Ask ten clinicians why they are burnt out and you will hear ten different stories, but common themes emerge across countries and settings. 

Workload and staffing are at the top of almost every list. Chronic staff shortages mean fewer people are doing more work, often in high-acuity environments. WHO’s European Region notes that high levels of stress, burnout, and absenteeism among health and care workers are symptoms of the current state of health systems, where shortages and unsafe working conditions are the norm rather than the exception.  

Administrative burden is another major driver. Many clinicians describe a growing gap between the job they trained for; caring for patients, and the job they actually do: clicking boxes, chasing authorisations, and navigating complex billing rules. The U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory explicitly calls out administrative requirements, including prior authorisations and documentation, as forces that take time away from meaningful patient interactions and contribute to burnout. 

Financial pressure and low pay contribute in more subtle but powerful ways. In some contexts, healthcare workers are expected to work extra shifts to make ends meet, or juggle side jobs around an already punishing rota. That constant economic stress compounds emotional fatigue and makes it harder to rest or seek help. 

Then there is moral distress: the pain of knowing what patients need but being unable to provide it due to resource limits, policy decisions, or system failures. Research on burnout in community and public health workers shows that when professionals repeatedly face situations where their values and reality clash, their risk of burnout and mental distress rises sharply.  

Violence and abuse are a growing concern. In many countries, healthcare workers, especially in emergency departments and mental health, report increasing verbal and physical aggression from patients and families, often linked to but not limited to waiting times or service cuts. These incidents leave scars that do not show up in routine burnout scores but weigh heavily on mental health. 

Finally, culture plays a huge role. In some hospitals, healthcare worker mental health is still treated as a taboo subject. Admitting you are struggling is seen as weakness or a lack of professionalism. Senior leaders may talk about wellbeing publicly but dismiss concerns about staffing or toxic behaviour privately. Reed’s recent survey across sectors found that 85% of workers reported symptoms of burnout and exhaustion, yet a significant minority felt unable to take time off for mental health due to fear of judgement or workload. (The Times) 

In healthcare, where identity is tightly tied to being the helper, not the one who needs help, that stigma can be even stronger. 

When burnout becomes a patient-safety issue 

Burnout and mental health challenges among healthcare workers are human tragedies in their own right. But they also have serious implications for patients and health systems. 

Studies consistently link severe burnout to increased errors, lower patient satisfaction, and higher rates of adverse events.  

When you combine healthcare worker burnout, chronic fatigue, and understaffing, you end up with a system where everyone is doing their best in conditions that make serious mistakes more likely. This has little to do with being an Hr issue, it is a safety and quality issue. 

Burnout also feeds the healthcare staffing crisis. Burnt-out doctors, nurses, and allied professionals are more likely to reduce hours, leave their employer, or exit the profession entirely.  

In short, healthcare worker mental health is a central pillar of any sustainable, high-quality health system. 

System-level solutions: fixing the environment, not just the person 

Because burnout is rooted in systemic factors, the most effective solutions must also be systemic. Telling burnt-out staff to be more resilient without changing anything about their workload is like telling someone to swim harder while adding bricks to their backpack. 

Global guidance from WHO and national bodies emphasises several intersecting strategies. 

One is staffing and workload. This includes realistic staffing ratios, predictable schedules, protected rest breaks, and transparent planning for surge periods. Some health systems are experimenting with enforced rest policies and structured career breaks specifically to prevent burnout from becoming permanent damage. 

Another is psychological safety and culture. Leaders who openly talk about mental health, share their own experiences, and respond constructively to concerns create environments where it is safer to ask for help. Peer-support programs, Schwartz Rounds, and reflective practices can give staff space to process difficult cases and emotions. 

Crucially, systems must tackle the administrative overload that drives much of today’s physician and nurse burnout. Streamlining documentation, re-designing workflows, and investing in better technology and revenue cycle management can reduce the time clinicians spend chasing authorisations or correcting billing errors. Studies on healthcare revenue cycle management show that effective processes not only improve cash flow but also reduce frustration by making billing smoother, more transparent, and less error-prone. 

Finally, systems need structured mental health support: confidential counselling, access to psychologists or psychiatrists, clear pathways for staff in crisis, and strong protections against stigma or career penalties. WHO notes that high levels of burnout, and depression among health workers are not inevitable; they reflect the choices societies make about how much support and protection to provide. 

What clinicians can realistically do for themselves 

No individual can self-care their way out of a broken system. But there are steps that can make burnout and mental health struggles more manageable. 

One is to name what’s happening. Understanding that what you feel; exhaustion and emotional numbness, is recognised as burnout or depression can be strangely relieving. It means you are not alone, and that your experience fits into a pattern that researchers and organisations are actively trying to address. 

Another is to reach out early, not at the point of collapse. This might be to a trusted colleague, a supervisor, a union or professional association, or a mental health professional. Many hospitals now offer staff counselling or Employee Assistance Programmes, though uptake can be low due to fear and stigma. Using them is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign that you value your own capacity to keep helping others. 

Setting boundaries is hard in cultures that glorify self-sacrifice, but essential. That may mean saying no to extra shifts when you are already at your limit, taking your breaks instead of powering through, or advocating for safer rotas. Evidence suggests that consistent, small changes in rest and recovery can make a cumulative difference in burnout risk over time. 

Beyond formal services, peer solidarity matters. Informal debriefs after difficult cases, small acts of kindness between colleagues, and collective advocacy for better conditions all help restore a sense of shared purpose. Burnout thrives in isolation; it loses power when people speak honestly together. 

Digital health, automation, and the hidden impact of better operations 

When people think about solutions to burnout and mental health in healthcare, they often picture wellness apps, mindfulness sessions, or free yoga classes in the hospital atrium. Those can be helpful, but there is another, less glamorous but equally important angle: fixing the operational headaches that quietly drain staff every day. 

On the other hand, when a practice or clinic outsources to a specialised, high-quality medical billing partner, the experience is different. Claims go out clean; denials are handled systematically; cash flow is predictable. Staff feel supported instead of blamed. The emotional temperature of the workplace drops. 

On the Delon Health blog, articles like “Medical Billing, Bigger Earnings!” and “The Future of Health-Tech in Africa: Telehealth, Billing, and Beyond” explore how smarter billing, telehealth models, and integrated digital ecosystems can reduce stress on both clinicians and administrators. (delonhealth.com) By improving the financial health of clinics and reducing administrative chaos, these solutions indirectly support hospital staff wellbeing and burnout prevention in healthcare. 

Healing the healers is not only about counselling and rest stations; it is also about giving them systems that work. 

Caring for the people who care for everyone else 

Healthcare worker burnout is sometimes described as a silent epidemic, but it is not silent anymore. From global WHO briefings to national taskforces and frontline staff speaking out on social media, the message is clear: we cannot afford to sacrifice the mental health of doctors, nurses, and other professionals in the name of efficiency or resilience. 

There is no single fix. We need policy-level changes in staffing and pay, organisational shifts in culture and leadership, and personal strategies to recognise and manage distress. We need digital health solutions and healthcare automation that remove friction rather than add to it. We need revenue cycle systems and medical billing services that support clinicians instead of pushing extra paperwork onto them. 

That belief is at the heart of what Delon Health does. By providing tailored medical billing and revenue cycle management solutions for clinics, specialists, and small practices. Delon Health helps reduce administrative burden and stabilise cash flow, so teams can spend more time caring and less time chasing claims. If your organisation is serious about protecting staff wellbeing and tackling burnout not just with words, but with better systems, contact Us today.