2023-06-08 14:07:08
Hospital staff have been on the front line to deal with the health crisis. Heavier workload, lack of staff and basic equipment, obligation to go to work despite the risk of contracting Covid-19… If these sacrifices were greeted by applause from the windows and a “Macron bonus” intended for pay for this extra work, they were not without consequences.
A study by Drees, the statistical service of the Ministry of Health, published on Thursday, reveals the degraded mental health of hospital staff. In total, 85,000 French workers were interviewed, including 2,900 hospital employees. Result: they suffer more from anxiety and depression than the rest of the employees.
Symptoms of mild to moderate depression affect 38% of hospital workers, compared to 30% of French employees. And the symptoms of moderate anxiety affect 28% of caregivers, against 22% of “all people in employment”, notes the DREES. They are thus more likely to feel lacking in energy, to feel sadness and despair, to lack appetite or to have a bad opinion of themselves… On the other hand, the signs of severe depression are also frequent than among all employees.
The degraded working conditions of carers also have a greater impact on their private lives. Nearly a third (29%) of hospital staff said that “these symptoms made their work, their tasks at home or their ability to get along with others quite difficult or even extremely difficult”, compared to 23% of all employed persons. A quarter of them (26%) believe they need help for psychological difficulties, compared to 19% of the rest of employees.
Stress at work
To explain these alarming signals, the authors of the study point to the degraded working conditions of caregivers. During the pandemic, [ils ont] been subjected to an intensification of [leur] workload and greater exposure to the Covid-19 virus than all workers, while [leurs] working conditions were already difficult,” they write.
The stressful nature of nursing work is also identified by the authors of the study as a risk factor: “Situations of work tension involving high psychological demands and low decision-making latitude are more frequent in the hospital”, judge -they.
“Work intensity and insecurity”
Hospital staff are also more often encouraged not to take sick leave or leave due to staff shortages. Two-thirds (69%) say they have already been encouraged not to take sick leave or not to extend it, compared to 63% of all employees. The frequency of this type of situation reflects “both the intensity of the work and the insecurity”, analyzes the DREES.
To a lesser extent, the poor mental health of hospital workers also stems from the “high proportion of women”. They constitute more than three quarters (78%) of the workforce and are more often subject to anxiety and depressive disorders, according to the authors of the study.
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