Zombie burnout is haunting healthcare. Workers keep showing up

For Nicole Csiszar, senior director of HR services at BambooHR in California, that’s what makes the zombie comparison so fitting.

“I think the association with the zombie is because you’re burnt out, but you still walk amongst the living,” Csiszar said. “So you picture these poor healthcare workers that really don’t have the option to not show up for their patients and all the things that have to continue to go on. While the burnout is so real, they have to show up anyways, and they continue to do it over and over.”

Why burned-out workers stay put

Burnout might seem like a reason to start looking for the exit, but leaving doesn’t necessarily promise relief. For healthcare workers already stretched thin, the prospect of starting over somewhere else can bring its own uncertainty.

Csiszar said her perspective comes partly from conversations with nurses she knows, who face a difficult question when weighing whether to leave.

“There’s also stress in leaving,” Csiszar said. “You weigh out the options. Will it be better somewhere else, or is it just a different name on the side of the hospital or building that you’re working for?”