The Importance of Physical Activity in Preventing Fatigue and Burnout in Healthcare Workers

Abstract

The workers of the health sector are important to the country’s economy in many ways. Healthy and rested workers are highly valuable to the public health sector and give a good perception of their work to patients and society. It is thus important to have a sufficient number of healthy working staff in healthcare institutions who do not have work fatigue and burnout. A total of 987 employees—doctors, professional staff, and others—of a large healthcare institution in Hungary voluntarily participated in a survey regarding their lifestyle and physical activity habits and answered the questions anonymously. Women reported less leisure time (p < 0.02), with 54.9% of female respondents saying that they did not exercise regularly, and fatigue was more common among them (p < 0.001). In this respect, the healthcare workers’ responses did not differ from those of the overall population. The most common sports were cycling (17.7%), running (15.4%), and working out in a gym (12.3%). Reasons for not participating in sports included lack of time (70.2%) and fatigue (43.9%) as the most frequent responses. Healthcare workers are exposed to a number of risks that require particular attention to maintain their health. Employers should thus focus on implementing programs that prevent burnout and promote healthy lifestyles.

The levels of physical activity and fatigue among teachers in Poland and the United Kingdom in the first year after the COVID-19 pandemic

“…However, this study shows a large difference between women and men, with the former reporting a higher level of fatigue, and a particularly large difference between the sexes in the Polish population. The discovered differences between women and men confirm reports from the literature [22,41,42].…”

Association of Fatigue Level and Physical Activity among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Survey

“…Additionally, exploring the mechanisms underlying the observed associations could offer deeper insights into how physical activity exerts its fatigue-mitigating effects. Such investigations would not only augment the existing body of knowledge but also inform the development of targeted interventions to combat fatigue among university students and the broader population (1,6,11,12,21).…”

“…Engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity is particularly significant for enhancing overall health. In the context of fatigue, studies have highlighted an intriguing observation: individuals initially experiencing high levels of fatigue who increase their physical activity levels tend to show a marked reduction in fatigue over time (6). This finding suggests a positive correlation between heightened physical activity and the alleviation of fatigue among those starting with high fatigue levels.…”

Why Do Hungarian Health Workers Migrate? A Micro-Level Analysis

“…According to recent studies, the lack of human resources in public healthcare is not only caused by emigration, but also by the fact that a lot of professionals run private practices in addition to their jobs in public healthcare, or become completely employed by private service providers, or leave the profession. Due to the labor shortages, overtime is common [73,82], and it has also become a common practice for health professionals to work simultaneously in several institutions. This factor has resulted in the increased workload and burnout of health professionals, pushing them to emigrate [48].…”