Burnout in Healthcare Workers
Why does everyone feel harder to be around lately, including me?
Healthcare has changed. You expected the work to be hard, but you might not have expected it to change how people treat each other. Or how you show up with others.
You might be noticing it in small moments
Conversations feel shorter, sharper, or more transactional
People seem more reactive or more checked out
There’s less patience, less curiosity, less room for each other
You find yourself getting irritated more quickly than you used to
Or pulling back and calling out frequently because it feels like too much to engage
Sometimes it’s others.
Sometimes it’s you.
Usually, it’s both.
This often creates a tension inside of us:
On one hand, you understand why it’s happening: Everyone is under pressure. Everyone is stretched. Everyone is trying to keep up.
On the other hand, this isn’t how you want to be with people, and it’s not the kind of environment you want to work in.
Chronic stress doesn’t just affect individuals, it affects relationships
When stress becomes chronic and there isn’t enough space for recovery, your body and brain operate in survival mode.
And in survival mode, certain patterns tend to show up:
Less emotional bandwidth → less patience and empathy
More reactivity → quicker frustration, sharper responses
Narrower focus → getting through tasks over connecting with people
Over time, this can start to erode the sense of trust, teamwork, and mutual support that the work actually depends on.
People tend to fall into a few patterns.
This isn’t often intentional but often how their bodies and brains have adapted to survive and deal with stress.
Some people start to:
push harder
become more critical
take on a tone or role that can come across as harsh or invalidating
Others tend to:
withdraw and call out
avoid conflict
carry stress quietly and try not to add to the problem
And some people move between both.
All of these reactions make sense in their context. And, none of them end up working well long-term. Pushing harder can strain relationships and increase tension, and withdrawing can lead to isolation and unprocessed stress. Both can leave you feeling more disconnected, exhausted, and less like the version of yourself you want to be.
Currently there a few different strategies that are being used to try and make sense of this:
“Everything is toxic/oppressive/broken”
What it looks like:
Labeling people, teams, units, or entire systems as
“toxic,” “oppressive,” or “indifferent to our needs”Using those labels to make sense of difficult environments or interactions
Framing the problem as something that exists entirely outside of you
Why it feels so helpful:
It creates clarity quickly
It validates that something is genuinely not okay
It reduces confusion and self-doubt
Where it can start to be less helpful:
It can subtly communicate: “The problem is out there—and there’s not much I can do about it,” which can lead to:
feeling increasingly disempowered
less curiosity about what’s actually happening in interactions
more disconnection from others and from your own sense of agency
Over time, labeling can shift from “this helps me understand what’s happening” to “this is just how things are, and I’m stuck in it”
What can be more helpful in the long-term (and this is what we work on at Rootwise):
Keeping the accuracy without overgeneralizing (what specifically is happening, and when?)
Separating what’s systemic from what’s situational
Identifying where you do have influence, even if it’s limited
Staying engaged enough to respond intentionally, rather than only reacting or withdrawing
This isn’t about denying real problems. It’s about staying connected to both reality and your ability to move within it.
“Everything is trauma (and everything is someone else’s fault)”
What this looks like:
Labeling a wide range of experiences as trauma without nuance
Framing reactions as entirely caused by others (parents, systems, bosses, etc.)
Emphasizing: “Of course you feel this way—look what they did to you”
Why it feels so helpful:
Reduces shame in the short-term
Creates immediate validation
Gives a clear explanation
Where it starts to be less helpful:
It can subtly communicate: “Your current experience is fully determined by what happened to you” which can lead to:
feeling stuck in a fixed narrative
less curiosity about current patterns
less sense of influence over change
What can be more helpful in the long-term (and this is what we work on at Rootwise):
Honoring what happened without letting it fully define what’s possible now
Understanding how your body and brain have adapted to challenges in the past, how those adaptations show up today, and deciding what’s helpful to keep and what might be helpful to let go of
Building awareness of current triggers, reactions, and choices
Developing new ways of responding that reflect your present life, not just your past experiences
This keeps the compassion and validation while also making space for change, flexibility, and growth.
“Cut them off / walk away / protect your peace (at all costs) if they don’t respect your boundaries”:
What this looks like:
Encouraging distance as the primary solution
Framing boundaries as:
Demands that other people change or adjust to you
Disengagement
Withdrawal
elimination of difficult people
Why it feels so helpful:
Gives a sense of control
Reduces immediate stress
Feels decisive and empowering
Where it starts to be less helpful:
It can reinforce: “The only way to feel better is to remove yourself from difficult dynamics,” which can lead to:
shrinking relational worlds
avoidance becoming the main coping strategy
less development of flexible interpersonal skills
What can be more helpful in the long-term (and this is what we work on at Rootwise):
Learning that boundaries are about your behavior, and requests (not demands) are what you can make of others about their behavior.
Developing skills to stay engaged in difficult interactions when needed
Increasing flexibility, knowing when to step back and when to stay present
Building confidence in your ability to navigate complexity, not just escape it
Sometimes distance is necessary. And, in the long-term, most people benefit from having more options than just staying or leaving.
The goal is NOT to become perfectly calm or endlessly patient in the face of systems that feel broken, people who are struggling, or ethically challenging situations.
That is not possible or even desirable or helpful.
Instead, the goal is to give yourself more choice in how you respond and to have more responses that you feel proud of and that feel genuinely effective, especially in difficult moments.
This is a big part of the work I do
I work with healthcare workers who are navigating:
chronic stress
strained work environments
and the impact those have on relationships—with patients, coworkers, and people at home