Dealing with workload and stress complaints: The impact of resilience

Mental health care professionals (MHP) work in an increasingly demanding environment, facing pressure from a combination of factors. Studies show that the mental well-being of healthcare professionals is deteriorating and that emotional exhaustion and drop-out among healthcare professionals in mental health care is high. In this current context, it is becoming increasingly important to focus on (maintaining) mental resilience. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between workload, mental well-being and resilience among healthcare professionals in mental health care and to investigate whether resilience plays a mediating role in the relationship between workload and mental well-being. In addition, research was carried out into which factors cause the most workload and what according to the MHP can contribute to reducing perceived workload in mental health care. Method: It is a cross-sectional study in which data from 711 MHP (specific behavioral therapists) were collected through an online survey conducted among the members of the Dutch Association for Behavioral Therapy. The survey concerned questions about perceived workload, mental well-being and mental resilience. Results: It was shown that workload, mental well-being and resilience were associated and that the relationship between workload and mental well-being is partially mediated by resilience. Finally, more than half the participants rated having not enough time for non-billable tasks, increasing severity of clients’ problems and administrative burden as the work-related aspects that cause increased workload and about half of them mentioned that building relaxation into the workplace could reduce workload. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the importance of resilience in terms of the degree of perceived psychological distress associated with the perceived workload. In that case, it is recommended to develop, evaluate and research resilience programs within mental health care and in the (post-)academic programs.