The pathway from mental health, leaves of absence, and return to work of health professionals: Gender and leadership matter

Abstract

Health professions are ranked among the most stressful occupations and have a much higher likelihood of absenteeism from work. In this article, we present findings from four health professional case studies in our Healthy Professional Worker partnership, involving surveys with 1,860 respondents and 163 interviews with nurses, physicians, midwives, and dentists conducted between December 2020 and April 2021. We found that the pathway from mental health experiences through to the decision to take a leave of absence and return to work differed between the health professions and that both gender and leadership matter greatly. There is a need to de-stigmatize mental health issues and encourage greater awareness and support from supervisors and colleagues. Leadership can play an important role in mitigating mental health issues, and as such investment in both leadership training and mentorship are important first steps in acting upon our research findings.

New Graduate Nurses Navigating Entry to Practice in the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Participants not only discussed the urgent need to bolster mental health supports and address psychological safety in the workplace, but they also made career decisions based on these factors. Their calls for urgent action are reflected in recent research findings that highlight disproportionately high rates of burnout and mental health issues amongst nurses ( Bourgeault et al, 2022 ). Furthermore, their calls for action at a systems level, and their understandings of the role gender plays in nursing workplace issues continues to be reflected in emerging health human resource literature ( Ben Ahmed & Bourgeault, 2022 ; Bourgeault et al, 2022 ).…”

“I feel broken”: Chronicling burnout, mental health, and the limits of individual resilience in nursing

“…As elucidated in the findings from this study, participants identified breaking points at multiple levels, which perpetuated and precipitated their burnout. These findings are supported by Bourgeault et al (2022), who opine that although this burnout is manifested as individual distress, it is intersected with and "reflective of concerns relating to healthcare institutions ' policies, communication practices, and politics" (p. 199). We note that our findings are disproportionately negative in nature-however throughout the data collection period (and still to date) healthcare in Canada has been experiencing a widespread crisis (Canadian Medical Association, 2022), and at the national level, Statistics Canada (2022) reported 71% of nurses reporting burnout in 2021, with morale hitting at an all-time low (Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, 2022).…”

“…The economic, social, and health shocks of these measures have now reverberated into a prolonged pandemic sequelae, which has included increasing socioeconomic disparity, delayed healthcare delivery, mistrust of science, and persistent mental health strain (Murthy, 2022b; de Saxe Zerden et al, 2021; Yackel et al, 2023). Most notably, the pandemic has laid bare the legacy of chronic underinvestment in both health systems and healthcare providers (Bourgeault et al, 2022; Orr et al, 2023; World Health Organization, 2020). Coupled with an interminable pandemic trajectory and numerous waves of increasingly transmittable variants, both health systems and nurses have had minimal recuperative time to contend with these extrinsic realities in the face of diminishing resources (Arasli et al, 2020).…”

Prevalence of mental disorders and high rates of absenteeism from work among healthcare professionals in Slovenia: a retrospective study

“…29 Health professions Open access are among the most stressful professions and have a much higher likelihood of sick leave. 30 Serious mental and physical health problems may be caused by occupational stress, to which healthcare workers are particularly exposed. 31 Many different factors contribute to increased stress among healthcare workers, including heavy workloads, long shifts, lack of physical or psychological safety, continuity of care, moral conflicts, job security and lack of social support.…”