Strategies for a Resilient Health Workforce

The mental well-being of the healthcare and public health workforce is more than an occupational concern; it is a critical determinant of community health, organizational sustainability, and system-wide trust. Specifically, burnout, moral injury, and chronic stress are pervasive across the sector, threatening the quality and continuity of care, especially in communities that rely most heavily on public systems. As the former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy emphasized, “Workplace mental health and well-being is a critical priority for public health. It has numerous and cascading impacts for the health of individual workers and their families, organizational productivity, the bottom line for businesses, and the U.S. economy” (NCSL, 2024). However, traditional interventions, such as wellness apps or stress-relief workshops, fail to address the systemic roots of workforce distress. 

The State of Workforce Mental Health

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) released its 2025 Workplace Mental Health Poll, shedding light on the current state of mental health in American workplaces. The findings reveal a workforce that is supportive of colleagues’ mental health concerns yet often hesitant to address their own—underscoring persistent stigma, limited awareness, and a pressing need for cultural and structural change. A key insight from the poll is the contrast between expressed empathy and personal vulnerability. While 77% of employees say they feel comfortable if a coworker opens up about a mental health issue, 42% admit they would worry about potential negative impacts on their career if they were to share their own struggles. This disparity highlights how stigma continues to shape workplace dynamics, even in environments that outwardly promote mental health support. This stigma is even more common in the healthcare profession. In a global survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half of healthcare professionals reported emotional exhaustion, while a significant portion experienced symptoms of depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress (Morgantini et al., 2020). Within the public health sector, professionals described overwhelming workloads, insufficient organizational support, and waning morale as factors strongly associated with intent to leave the field (McFadden et al., 2021). In addition to the uncertainty of funding, budget cuts, and layoffs in the public sector, these findings underscore a systemic crisis that demands a systemic response.

Our Approach to a Flourishing Workforce: Culture, Leadership, and Equity

Proximate Learning meets this moment with a differentiated approach—one that targets the structural conditions that drive burnout, rather than placing responsibility solely on individuals.. With services that focus on systems-level and leadership-centered strategies, Proximate Learning equips organizations with the tools to transform workplace culture, enhance equity, and build resilience across entire teams. 

To address cultural shifts in mental health, Proximate Learning partners with organizations, such as Collective Growth, to make a thriving culture a priority through organizational workplace assessment. Cultural assessments unearth hidden stressors such as toxic norms, ineffective workflows, and inequitable practices. These insights guide strategic planning efforts that inform policy reform, support positive mental health, and reduce stigma. 

Research underscores the power of leadership in shaping mental health outcomes. Leaders who promote psychological safety, role clarity, and values-based decision-making foster environments where employees are not only retained but can thrive (West et al., 2016; Panagioti et al., 2017). Proximate Learning operationalizes these insights by offering tailored leadership development programs that prioritize burnout prevention, integrate trauma-informed management strategies, enhance emotional intelligence, and promote inclusive decision-making. 

Crucially, Proximate Learning facilitates employee and community engagement processes that elevate historically underrepresented voices, ensuring that reforms are grounded in lived experience and community context. Studies show that workplace discrimination and exclusion significantly worsen psychological outcomes among minoritized workers, particularly Black and Brown professionals (Alang et al., 2021). By embedding equity throughout its approach, Proximate Learning ensures that workforce mental health is addressed not just broadly, but justly. 

In contrast to conventional wellness programs that emphasize self-care, Proximate Learning recognizes that structural care, rooted in leadership accountability and systemic change, is the path forward. Ultimately, investing in the mental well-being of the public health and healthcare workforce is not only a moral imperative; it is a strategic necessity for creating institutions that communities can trust, and professionals can sustain.

References

Alang, S., McAlpine, D., McCreedy, E., & Hardeman, R. (2017). Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda for Public Health Scholars. American journal of public health, 107(5), 662–665. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303691

McFadden, S. M., Malik, A. A., Aguolu, O. G., Willebrand, K. S., & Omer, S. B. (2020). Perceptions of the adult US population regarding the novel coronavirus outbreak. PloS one, 15(4), e0231808. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231808

Morgantini, L. A., Naha, U., Wang, H., Francavilla, S., Acar, Ö., Flores, J. M., Crivellaro, S., Moreira, D., Abern, M., Eklund, M., Vigneswaran, H. T., & Weine, S. M. (2020). Factors contributing to healthcare professional burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid turnaround global survey. PloS one, 15(9), e0238217. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238217

Panagioti M, Panagopoulou E, Bower P, et al. Controlled Interventions to Reduce Burnout in Physicians: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis . JAMA Intern Med. 2017;177(2):195–205. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.7674

West, M., Armit, K., Loewenthal, L., Eckert, R., West, T. and Lee, A. (2015) Leadership and Leadership Development in Healthcare: The Evidence Base. London, Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management https://assets.kingsfund.org.uk/f/256914/x/6577e5c839/leadership_in_health_care_report_febru