Like other healthcare professionals, CNAs are at a high risk for burnout due to the emotional and physical demands of their work. Learn the causes of CNA burnout, understand the signs and symptoms, and discover some strategies that can help you combat it.
What is CNA burnout?
Burnout is a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive stress. It occurs when individuals feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained and unable to meet constant demands. i It can lead to decreased motivation, reduced performance and a sense of helplessness. Over time, burnout can negatively affect your health, relationships and well-being.
Burnout is common throughout the workforce: In 2025, 55% of workers reported it. I. In the nursing profession, burnout affects the majority. In our “Solutions to Healthcare Burnout Report” 81% of nurses reported experiencing burnout, and 62% reported being at risk of it. A staggering 94% said that they have made personal sacrifices for their work, including missing weddings, graduations, and funerals.
Causes of CNA burnout
Many factors contribute to CNA burnout, including:
A heavy workload
A heavy workload can be caring for more patients than you can reasonably handle or working too many shifts.
Demanding shifts
A demanding shift occurs whenever stress levels increase. That can happen for many reasons, like dealing with a patient emergency or having to choose which patients get care during coverage shortages.
An unsafe work environment
Unsafe healthcare environments are increasingly common. Nurse.org's 2026 State of Nursing Survey found that 34% of nurses do not feel safe from violence in their workplace — and more than 1 in 4 were physically assaulted in the past year alone. . Coverage shortages also create unsafe environments for both patients and nurses.
Lack of support
Lack of support from teammates and supervisors may also be an issue. In nurse.org’s most recent survey, 52% of nurses felt unsupported at work, and nearly 60% don't feel their unit prioritizes nurses and patients. Ninety-five percent of nurses in our “Solutions to Healthcare Burnout Report” reported feeling misunderstood.
The reason people leave the field is not because they don't love the work. They love the work. These are people who get into it because they want to care for people. They care about keeping people healthy and safe and heard, but it's the confines of the work structure that make it impossible for them to do that.
Symptoms of burnout
Christina Maslach, burnout expert and creator of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which is the gold standard for measuring burnout, says burnout is a combination of the following:
1. Emotional exhaustion
Emotional exhaustion may include physical symptoms such as fatigue and headaches and can lead to a loss of motivation or interest in work, along with increased irritability or cynicism. (Emotional exhaustion may also lead to medical errors. More on that soon.)
2. Depersonalization
Depersonalization may lead to a feeling of roboticism. It can also make patients seem like “impersonal objects” or lead one to behave as if in a dreamlike state.
3. Reduced sense of personal accomplishment
When g burned out, people tend to have a reduced sense of accomplishment, even if they’re not underperforming.
Impact of CNA burnout on patient care
When nurses are burned out, patients can suffer. A 2024 JAMA meta-analysis of 85 studies covering nearly 300,000 nurses found that burnout consistently and negatively impacts patient safety, care quality, and satisfaction. It also cited several studies that claim burnout leads to increased absenteeism and turnover. Depersonalization, a burnout symptom, has been linked to poor patient satisfaction.
Cognitive issues associated with burnout, such as attention deficits, can lead to medical errors. More than 200,000 patients die annually from preventable medical errors in U.S. hospitals — underscoring the patient safety stakes of workforce burnout.
Building resilience as a CNA
CNA burnout is more of a systemic issue than a personal one. Even so, there are steps you can take today to build resilience, which helps you rebound from stress much quicker. Here are a few ideas:
Tap into your support network
Make time to show appreciation for others, ask for help, and stay in touch with your friends and family. I. If you don’t have people you can count on, make a plan to start meeting people who share your interests and values, such as volunteering or joining local groups.
Examine your thinking and reframe events if appropriate
Start to notice how you interpret the events around you. Also observe how you handle negative emotions and how you feel when faced with obstacles or failures. Do your interpretations and reactions make events feel more stressful? If so, explore other interpretations and reactions.
Take action when needed
It’s critical not to downplay events that require action. Ask for help from your team when needed, and report harmful incidents to the appropriate authorities.
Find meaning and purpose
Many CNAs choose their careers because they care for others and want to help. Lean into that when times are stressful. Try also giving more attention to the parts of your life that already feel meaningful or provide you with a sense of purpose.
Take better care of yourself
Self-care alone can’t relieve burnout, but taking care of the basics, like getting enough sleep, staying hydrated and looking after your nutrition, can help.
Seek professional support
Sometimes, going it alone doesn’t cut it. Burnout is a mental health issue, and to find relief, you may need more than a friend or family member’s support. Engaging a trained therapist can help. NAMI has resources tailored for healthcare professionals, and there are organizations that provide low-to no-cost counseling for those in the health profession, like Emotional PPE.
Strategies for preventing CNA burnout
Set realistic goals and expectations
Be real about what you can and can’t change about yourself or your work environment. Take action on what you can change, like carving out time for a 10-minute break or regulating your breathing for a few minutes. Chunk larger goals down into smaller, more achievable action items.
Manage time and prioritize tasks
There’s only so much one person can do in a day, and sometimes there’s more to be done than time to do it. Recognize that, and prioritize to the best of your ability. Reach out for help if you need it — asking for help can even help you feel more connected to others.
Seek professional development opportunities
Building your skill set can increase your sense of personal achievement at work. There are many career paths CNAs can take, and working toward a self-defined goal can help improve work satisfaction levels.
Balance work and personal life
Work-life balance can be hard to achieve for those in the healthcare profession. Making time for what really matters to you, taking time away from work and scheduling breaks while working can help.
Try mindfulness
Mindfulness practices show great promise for helping to reduce stress levels. Pick a practice that works for you — a few minutes of meditation, breathwork or even just noticing the sights and sounds around you can make a difference.
Create a healthy work environment
A healthy work environment is one of teamwork, support and open communication. As a CNA, you don’t have control over much of what happens in a facility, but you can make an impact on those you work with. One nurse headed an initiative at her facility to encourage nurses to take breaks. She called it the “Restorative Break Initiative.”
Using the ShiftKey app to find more flexibility as a CNA
You can reduce some of the effects of CNA burnout by introducing more flexibility into your schedule. Gloria, a CNA pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing, uses the ShiftKey app to work around her classes. Linkeitha, also a CNA, uses the ShiftKey app to be there for her five children. Gloria, Linkeitha and hundreds of thousands of independent professionals use the ShiftKey app to work on their terms, set rates they prefer and more.
You can’t fix CNA burnout alone, but you can find relief
CNA burnout is a complex issue. If you’re experiencing any signs of burnout, such as anxiety, concentration issues, depression or fatigue, it’s important to take action. In 2022, the U.S. Surgeon General put out a burnout advisory declaring burnout a national crisis and priority and outlining what healthcare professionals (as well as facilities, policymakers, and insurers) can do about it. If you need mental health support, consider contacting Emotional PPE or NAMI. If you’re in crisis, dial 988.
Overcoming CNA burnout is just as much about the small, daily efforts as it is about the big changes. Start wherever you are, and keep taking actions that prioritize your mental health.
References
“The State of Worker Burnout 2025,” (Eagle Hill Consulting/Ipsos).
“Solutions to Healthcare Burnout Report” (ShiftKey).
“Nurses are Burned Out. Can Hospitals Change in Time to Keep Them?” (New York Times).
“What Are The Symptoms Of Emotional Exhaustion?” (Healthline).
“Regan Parker: ShiftKey offers Healthcare Workers Freedom, Choice, and Control” (FRIED. The Burnout Podcast).
“How to Measure Burnout Accurately and Ethically” (Harvard Business Review).
“Nurse Burnout and Patient Safety, Satisfaction, and Quality of Care,” (JAMA).
“Influence of Burnout on Patient Safety: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” (NIH).
“A Looming Disaster: The Certified Nursing Assistant Staffing Shortage,” (The Gerontologist).
“Building Resilience” (Cornell Health).
“Medical Error Reduction and Prevention,” (NIH)
“Asking For Help Is Hard, but People Want To Help More Than We Realize, Stanford Scholar Says” (Stanford Report).
“The Surprising Connection Between Goal-Setting and Burnout” (Thrive Global).
“Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and Safety” (NIH).
"Providing Rest Breaks for ICU Nurses" (University of Utah)
“Healthcare Professionals,” (NAMI).
