Rates of burnout, fatigue and stress have improved since 2022, when nurses were still reeling from the working conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But rates today are still troubling, according to Brendan Martin, the council's director of research.
"If not for 2022, [2024] would be the highest rates we ever tracked," Martin said. "I don't know how much longer we can go without direct investment in solutions."
Those solutions would include major policy changes regarding workplace safety as well as mental health support, salary increases and staffing improvements, Martin said. Labor unions representing nurses have frequently negotiated for those issues to be addressed in contracts.
Martin also said organizations should avoid placing newer nurses into high-stress positions including leadership roles and instead look to more experienced nurses in order to help curb burnout and strengthen retention efforts.
"A lot of these new career entrants [are] being thrust into positions where they are a little bit overwhelmed," Martin said. "They're getting more and more responsibilities earlier in their career, so they might be asked to be the unit manager, you know, just a few years into their career. I don't think that that sets us up well from a burnout and stress perspective for those early career entrants."
