“What is one thing you wish you had more time to learn about in your work?”
KHI posed this question to recent attendees of the Governor’s Public Health Conference. We unearthed an overall theme of dealing with stress, burnout and participants wanting to learn more about supporting their personal well-being while working in public health.
Burnout and the stress that the public health workforce deals with was brought to the forefront of conversations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming a global issue for the public health field. Kansas itself experienced high levels of public health turnover during the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has noted that burnout among public health workers has remained high even after the pandemic ended, and several new initiatives aim to address this issue.
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, observed in May, this post discusses burnout and stress rates in public health and strategies to address these issues at multiple levels. It also provides advice from Renee Van Meter, L.S.C.S.W., L.C.A.C., who is the Deputy Division Director in Emergency Services at Johnson County Mental Health Center. She has more than 20 years of experience in the mental health field as a licensed clinician. Since the pandemic, she has become a keynote speaker at conferences and other events discussing this topic, while providing workplace training on how to address these issues.
Current Burnout Rates in the Public Health Workforce
A previous post from this blog discussed public health burnout and highlighted the ongoing challenges for those in this field. This issue is especially prevalent among employees at local health departments, with 7 in 10 having reported experiencing one or more symptoms of burnout. Burnout also affects other public health professionals, with the 2024 PH WINS findings reporting that 1 in 5 experiences near-constant symptoms of burnout.
Although burnout rates may be lower than during the COVID-19 pandemic, the public health workforce has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. This means that as organizations continue to address this issue, they need to cultivate culture and work environments that adapt to the ongoing needs of the workforce, including consideration of shifting priorities, ages and tenure. Younger workers make up a growing share of the public health workforce, with 25 percent being age 35 or younger, bringing different generational preferences and expectations.
Looking to the Future
Generation Z workers are prioritizing stability and well-being in their work, reflecting a growing desire for work-life balance, stability and steady professional growth. Work environments that adapt to these priorities may help address the current rates of burnout, stress and poor mental health in the workforce.
Environmental and occupational factors are among the seven domains of self-care (Figure 1), which represent different areas of life that can need self-care. During the interview, Renee defined self-care as the practice of taking action to protect or improve one’s own health. She suggested that individuals can support their own self-care by clarifying what they need and seeking that out. People can also seek support from friends, family, doctors and others.