Caring for the caregivers: Health and wellbeing in the healthcare industry

Healthcare leaders understand the intensity their teams operate under every day. Clinical staff, environmental services teams, administrative professionals, and specialists move continuously between patient needs, documentation requirements, and regulatory demands. Many work extended or rotating shifts, and the emotional weight of patient care often follows them home long after a shift ends. 

Across health systems, employees face a combination of pressures
that HR leaders know well: 

• Staffing shortages and rising patient ratios  

• Fatigue, absenteeism, and retention challenges  

• High rates of burnout and compassion fatigue  

• Elevated risks of mental health and physical strain   

• Irregular sleep patterns from rotating shifts  

• Musculoskeletal strain and exposure to 
  infectious disease  

Compared to workers in other industries, health care workers had a higher prevalence of:

Over time, these realities shape how healthcare employees care for themselves. Preventive appointments are delayed, sleep becomes inconsistent, and recovery between shifts can be difficult to maintain, not because employees lack commitment to their health, but because the demands of care delivery often come first.  For health system HR and workforce leaders, the implications are clear. When employee wellbeing erodes, the impact shows up in retention, staffing stability, and the ability to sustain consistent, high-quality patient care.  Supporting the health of the healthcare workforce is therefore not only a wellbeing priority. It is a workforce strategy.  Understanding how healthcare employees rebuild sustainable health habits within these conditions is essential to strengthening resilience across the workforce.  

The question for health system leaders: Where are healthcare employees actually making progress in building sustainable health habits?

Health system behavior change insights  

Healthcare workforces operate in environments that are physically demanding, emotionally complex, and highly collaborative. Sustaining personal wellbeing in these conditions requires practical behaviors that help employees manage stress, maintain energy, and recover between shifts.  

The insights below combine aggregated, anonymize data from the Navigate platform with observations from our healthcare vertical Client Success teams working directly with hospitals and health systems. To ensure reliability, we evaluated consistent patterns across employers, employee groups, and wellbeing measures.  Together, these patterns offer a practical view into how healthcare employees are strengthening daily habits that support long-term health and resilience. 

Healthcare employees are focusing on practical daily health behaviors

Using Navigate platform data, the most common focus areas among health system participants include:

Why these behaviors are impactful  

Healthcare workers often navigate long shifts, emotional intensity, and unpredictable schedules. The wellbeing areas employees prioritize directly influence energy, recovery, and the ability to sustain focus throughout demanding workdays. 

Social wellbeing is driving meaningful behavior change for health system employees

Why this behavior change is impactful  

Healthcare delivery depends on collaboration and trust across teams. Strong social wellbeing supports communication, peer support, and shared resilience during high-pressure moments.

Employees are moving from struggling to thriving

Why this behavior change is impactful  

Financial stress can affect sleep, focus, and mental wellbeing. When healthcare employees gain greater stability and confidence in their financial lives, it reduces foundational stressors and strengthens their overall wellbeing. 

Healthcare employees are strengthening healthy financial habits

Why this behavior change is impactful  

Movement along the wellbeing continuum, from struggling to thriving, is one of the clearest indicators that meaningful behavior change is occurring. 

Take the next step

Data only tells part of the story. To see the complete picture, you need practical strategies that turn these health improvements into measurable ROI, lower healthcare claims, and higher employee retention.

Ready to learn how successful organizations achieve these outcomes? Explore insights from our Healthcare Client Success team to see what works on the ground, review our other industry impact reports for broader trends, and download the full Navigate Impact Guide to build a program that truly supports your people.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Addressing Health Worker Burnout

The American Institute of Stress: Workplace Stress

Center for Health Workforce Studies: University of Washington: Mental and Physical Health Status of U.S. Health Care Workers

Navigate 2025 Book of Business Data, Healthcare Vertical

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