The experiences of the past few years significantly impacted health and well-being of Americans at home, at work, and in our communities.

This is particularly true for healthcare workers – the heroes of COVID-19 – who selflessly served on the frontlines of the pandemic. More than 115,000 health care workers died within the first 18 months of COVID-19’s spread. In addition, 18%  left the medical field during that period.

We now have the opportunity to reset and pursue a more dynamic, substantive approach to health - one that focuses on vitality. Vitality is the capacity to live life with health, strength, and energy. Surveying more than 10,000 U.S. adults – the largest study of its kind – Cigna examined the relationship between vitality, health, and productivity.

One of the key findings: Healthcare workers have among the lowest levels of vitality across industries.

Dr. Stuart Lustig, lead medical director, Cigna Behavioral Health, spoke during a recent webinar about ways employers can help healthcare workers improve their vitality. His tips include:

• Prioritizing wellness and providing opportunities for workers to care for their own health.
• Maintaining good manager-worker rapport while keeping workers informed about what is going on in the workplace.
• Allowing time in team meetings for employees to talk about their personal interests, concerns, or life events. This can help foster resilience and connections at work.
• Supporting workers’ family and personal commitments. For example, this can mean allowing flexible schedules or establishing off-work hours when workers are not expected to respond to  e-mails, pagers, or calls.  Managers should have candid conversations with employees to determine what strategies would work best for them and to set expectations on how the workplace is able to accommodate their needs.