An unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic has driven health-care workers to the point of burnout with one-third of workers expecting to leave the profession in the next two years.
The findings are part of a telephone survey done of more than 800 members of the Hospital Employees’ Union.
Three-quarters of those polled experienced pandemic-related burnout, and one in three said they do not believe there are adequate mental health supports in the workplace.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents said their workloads have gotten worse over the last two years, and one-quarter of respondents reported that their employer rarely or never backfills positions left vacant by illness or vacation.
“There’s no question that many health-care workers are at the breaking point, exhausted by all they’ve been through,” said HEU secretary-business manager Meena Brisard.
“We should all be very concerned about what that means for our health-care system going forward.”
The strain on the health-care system has been well-documented during the pandemic.
The BCHEU has reported multiple instances during the pandemic where hospital and long-term care staff were required to work in areas they were unfamiliar with due to staffing shortages.
The BCHEU is one of multiple unions currently negotiating a new contract with the provincial government. The current agreement expires March 31, 2022.
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The random phone survey of 802 health-care workers took place between Feb. 22 and March 2 and is accurate to within +/- 3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
It was carried out by Viewpoints Research under commission by the HEU.
The internal survey also found health-care workers are having a tough time keeping up with rising costs, with more than a third saying they are less financially secure than two years ago.
More than a quarter of respondents said they are concerned that their housing is currently at risk.
“Health-care workers have carried the weight of this pandemic on their shoulders for all of us,” Brisard said.
“Now is the time to recognize these workers with a wage and compensation package that puts them ahead and not behind.”
The survey sample represents health-care workers employed in hospitals, care homes, health authority corporate offices and warehouses and other settings.
All those polled are currently covered by the facilities collective agreement covering 58,000 health-care workers.
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