Resiliency Begins with Us

For the final issue of Value.Delivered. for 2025, I want to focus on healthcare system resiliency—starting with the workforce. Post-pandemic, there have been numerous efforts to improve the resiliency of the healthcare supply chain, with an emphasis on data visibility and collaboration among providers, suppliers, and their technology partners. But just as health system resiliency depends on a resilient supply chain, it also hinges on a resilient workforce.

Numerous studies have documented the epidemic of burnout among healthcare workers. In 2022, nearly half of workers (clinicians and non-clinicians alike) reported frequent burnout—up 43% from 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clinicians tend to have higher relative rates of burnout, often citing the moral distress experienced when systemic barriers prevent them from doing what they believe is best for their patients. But non-clinical staff, including supply chain professionals, also report symptoms of burnout, which can include emotional exhaustion and a lack of personal efficacy and organizational support. Supply chain staff are also on the front lines of cost pressures, driven by tariffs, ongoing shortages, and a sicker patient population that has longer lengths of stay and an increasingly harder time paying for care. 

Addressing the underlying contributors to burnout will require longer-term systemic fixes, but there are things that we can do today to help reduce the impact of burnout, which can reduce the quality of care and increase turnover rates, both of which only add to moral distress and further strain hospital finances.  

Below are evidence-based ways hospital and supply chain leaders can support resiliency.

1. Reinforce Shared Purpose

Most healthcare workers entered the field to help others. A sense of shared purpose has been documented as a key source of workforce resiliency during pandemics, from SARS to COVID-19.

Leaders can amplify this by formally recognizing how supply chain teams collaborate with clinicians and finance to achieve their shared purpose. 

2. Strengthen Human Connections

Research shows that human connections can boost personal resilience. Simply knowing we’re not alone, especially when facing a common challenge, reduces stress. Neuroscience confirms this: chronic stress (a cause of burnout) activates genes that trigger inflammation and heighten disease risk. When we connect with others – whether to ask for help or to offer help – an entirely different set of genes is activated, this time reducing inflammation.

Leaders who check in with team members and provide support help create a culture where people not only feel comfortable asking for help but are also more inclined to offer assistance to their peers. 

3. Be Kind

Acts of kindness – whether performed or witnessed - release brain chemicals that reduce stress and enhance mood, while reinforcing a sense of agency—critical for those working in a career dedicated to helping others. Kindness takes on even greater importance given the increase in not only violence against healthcare workers but also the prevalence of bullying within the healthcare workforce. Nearly 80 percent of nurses in a recent survey reported experiencing some level of bullying from their peers. 

In addition to enforcing zero tolerance policies against violence and bullying, leaders can organize cross-functional service projects to build connection and mutual respect.

4. And at Last, Laugh

Finally, laughter remains highly underrated for its de-stressing qualities. Laughing boosts oxygen delivery to the body and brain, reduces stress, and increases self-esteem, contributing to a more productive and creative working environment. Better yet, when leaders can laugh at themselves, they foster a sense of psychological safety and more welcoming work environments. 

So go ahead—laugh. It works.