Burned Out: 20 Ways To Improve Employee Well-Being In Healthcare

Forbes

3 days ago

Burnout continues to be a growing concern in the healthcare industry, where long hours, emotional strain and high-stakes environments take a toll on employee well-being. As stress levels rise, so does the risk of turnover, diminished care quality and employee disengagement.
That's why it's so critical for organizations to prioritize sustainable workplace practices. Without them, both staff satisfaction and patient outcomes are at risk.
To offer guidance, Forbes Business Council members share actionable strategies that healthcare companies can implement to help alleviate employee stress and reduce burnout, enabling a healthier, more supportive work environment.
1. Place Value On Psychological Safety
Make psychological safety nonnegotiable. Train managers to listen without blame, act on staff concerns and protect headcounts. If people don't feel safe to speak up, stress festers. Safe teams protect patients—unsafe ones inevitably burn out. - Amaan Kazi, Verified Market Research
2. Practice Elbow Coaching
I find elbow coaching to be very effective in healthcare. We have a large staff, and often burnout begins to occur due to inefficiencies in the work process, perfectionism—like trying to get things perfect rather than completing projects—and siloing. Elbow coaching allows brief, nonjudgmental and informal opportunities to foster these communications and relationships. - Joe Galasso, Baker Street Health
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3. Ask About Employees' Current Needs
Deploy continuous listening mechanisms at the team level to capture workforce sentiment in real time. Replace retrospective surveys with predictive insight to surface stressors early and target high-impact interventions. - Nick Pournader, P&C Global
4. Treat Staffing Like A Strategy
Stop treating self-care like a perk and start treating staffing like a strategy. Burnout isn't solved with pizza parties. It's solved by giving people manageable workloads, real time off and leaders who listen. Retention starts with respecting capacity. - Adam Fineberg, My Personal Recruiter
5. Allow Employees To Rest
Respect employee boundaries. In today's world, where the lines are completely blurred between work and life, it is time we allow our staff to have personal time, take vacations, pause and not feel completely guilty about it. - Georgia Godfrey, Foresight Strategies
6. Follow Up And Act On Feedback
One big step is to listen. Companies should genuinely follow up with workers, ask how they are doing and then act on those responses. Even small measures such as more flexible work hours or mental health support can go a long way in helping people feel heard and less overwhelmed. - Salvador Ordorica, The Spanish Group LLC
7. Reduce Admin With AI Technology
Using technology to reduce the burden of administrative tasks for healthcare employees makes a huge difference in reducing burnout. We have implemented a new AI charting system that listens to the visit with a patient and then writes a visit note, freeing up our providers to focus on what they do best, which is care for patients. It also codes the visit, which speeds up billing! - Sacha Obaid, M.D., North Texas Plastic Surgery
8. Offer Real, Proactive Support
Burnout creeps in quietly—like bad hold music on a long call. The fix? Support that makes staff feel seen, safe and slightly less likely to cry in the supply cupboard. Proactive care and humor heal from the inside out. If you want your people to go the extra mile, make sure they're not already running on empty. - Paul Boross MBE, Big Sky
9. Make Civility Part Of Workplace Safety
I've worked with healthcare clients for nearly 40 years. Workplace incivility caused by team members, patients, patients' families and others is a significant contributor to burnout. Instill civility as an operational element of safety (it is for staff in terms of outcomes) and explain briefly to patients and family what civility means in terms of practical behavior. - Stephen M. Paskoff, ELI [Employment Learning Innovations, Inc.]
10. Let Employees Have Control
Give teams more control, not just more perks. Autonomy in schedules, workflows and decision-making reduces burnout more than free lunches ever will. In high-stress environments, feeling powerless fuels exhaustion. Restore control and you restore resilience. - Richard Powell, APC Holdings, LLC
11. Fix Workflow Patterns That Cause Stress
Identify and eliminate recurring stress patterns in workflows, like constant last-minute scheduling or inefficient documentation. Tackling the root causes of burnout has a bigger impact than offering surface-level perks. - Brett Husak, PayBlox
12. Invest In Mental Health Support
As someone who's experienced burnout firsthand, I know how deeply it affects both work and well-being. One step I am working toward is paying for therapy access for our team. We currently host monthly wellness sessions. Healthcare companies need to invest in real mental health support. It's made a huge difference for our team's energy and retention. - Vicky Owens, Socially Speaking Media
13. Make Time For Peer Check-Ins
Give staff time and space to talk with each other—not just about patients or tasks, but about how they're really doing. Perhaps a weekly peer check-in with no agenda, just a safe space to vent or discuss. When people feel less alone in what they're carrying, it helps make work more manageable. Connection helps lighten the load. - Gianluca Ferruggia, DesignRush
14. Implement Flexible Scheduling And Staffing
Implement flexible scheduling and adequate staffing levels to reduce overload and allow for real rest. When employees feel their time and well-being are respected, stress decreases and resilience improves, directly combating burnout. - Kamya Elawadhi, Doceree
15. Remove Complexity From Daily Tasks
Align people, processes and technology around the core goal: patient care. Streamline workflows with intuitive tech and clear processes that reduce friction, not add to it. Empower staff by removing complexity. Simple, well-aligned systems ease stress and let caregivers focus on what matters most: the patients. - Chris Coldwell, Quicksilver Software Development Inc.
16. Ensure A Healthy Culture Around PTO
While paid time off is a valuable benefit to help employees recharge and alleviate stress, the majority do not use it because of internalized work pressure, letting one-third go unspent. Honestly evaluate your company culture. Make sure employees feel empowered to take time off and completely disconnect from work. This will create a healthier, more productive team in the long run. - Scott Paddock, Wondr Health
17. Offer On-Site Massage Breaks
One simple yet effective step healthcare companies can take is to offer quick massage sessions right in the office. Even brief, 10-minute massages can help alleviate stress, reduce muscle tension and enhance mental well-being. It's a small gesture that shows employees they're valued and helps combat burnout in a tangible, immediate way. - Egor Karpovich, Travel Code Inc.
18. Involve Frontline Staff In Key Decisions
Burnout isn't just a workload issue—it's a worth issue. One step? Give frontline staff a real seat at the table. Involve them in decisions that impact their day-to-day lives. When people feel heard, they feel valued. This isn't about yoga—it's about agency. Empowered employees stay. Ignored ones walk. If you want to heal your workforce, start listening like their lives—and your bottom line—depend on it. - Aleesha Webb, Pioneer Bank
19. Support Employees' Personal Values
One way to reduce burnout is for leadership to care about each employee's personal values. When workers feel seen and supported—not just professionally, but personally—it builds trust and motivation. Tailoring schedules and expectations with empathy can greatly ease stress in high-pressure healthcare roles. - Jekaterina Beljankova, WALLACE s.r.o
20. Redefine Productivity To Prioritize Thoughtful Care
Stop measuring productivity solely in throughput. Burnout thrives when care feels transactional. Give teams protected time to solve—not just treat—patient issues. When staff feel trusted to think and not just execute, morale rises and outcomes improve. It's not just humane—it's operationally smarter. - Haokun Qin, Gale