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In hospitals across the country, a growing facilities management (FM) crisis is taking shape, one that extends beyond maintenance schedules and capital budgets. It’s impacting the mental health of the very people who keep hospitals running.
As Ruben Garcia, Market Director of Facilities Management at CommonSpirit Health, explains during his appearance on the Healthcare Facilities Network (HFN), we need to “normalize the discussion of mental health in healthcare facilities.” Ruben goes on to say that the FM workforce shortage “isn’t just a staffing issue, it’s a human issue.”
More Work, Less Bandwidth: How Shortages Drive Stress
Ruben notes that many FM professionals today are being asked to “do more with less.” Aging staff are retiring, skilled trades are harder to find, and leadership teams face increasing pressure to meet compliance and performance standards with shrinking teams.
“Staffing is one of the biggest challenges in the FM world right now,” Ruben said. “They’re asking you to do more with less and that creates burnout.”
The result is mounting stress, chronic fatigue, and decreased morale. These stressors, combined with 24/7 operational demands, can quietly erode mental well-being. Ruben calls it a “bandwidth problem,” with each additional responsibility stretching employees thinner, increasing the risk of emotional exhaustion and disengagement.
Breaking the Stigma: From ‘Tough It Out’ to ‘Talk It Out’
In his appearance on HFN, Ruben challenged the long-held cultural norms in FM that discourage vulnerability. Many senior professionals were raised in an environment where you simply “tough it out and keep moving.”
“The younger generation is more apt to talking about mental health openly. The older generation grew up on the idea that you just keep it moving,” he shared. “We’re trying to bring normalcy to these conversations.”
By reframing “mental health” as “brain health,” Ruben and his team of presenters, Jesse Flores, COO, ACME; Thomas Johnson, Performance Strategist, PTP Strategic Performance Advisors; and Jackie Marroquin, DFM, Methodist Healthcare, aim to reduce stigma and normalize the idea that mental wellness is part of professional competence. As he puts it, “We go to the gym to strengthen our bodies—why wouldn’t we also train our minds?”
Leadership’s Role: Building a Culture of Care
At CommonSpirit Health, Ruben has taken tangible steps to integrate mental health awareness into operations. His leadership team implemented a mandatory “mental health day” once per month for FM leaders, a proactive measure to promote rest and self-care.
“All the leaders are required to take one mental health day off a month,” he explained. “It could be a Tuesday or a Friday, just take it. Some people don’t want to, but those are the ones who need it most.”
Simple acts like checking in on staff, encouraging open conversations, and promoting breaks can go a long way toward reducing burnout and improving team engagement.
Why It Matters: Mental Health Is Patient Safety
Ruben reminds us that FM work directly supports patient care and safety. When facilities professionals are mentally exhausted, the ripple effects can touch every part of a hospital, from equipment reliability to infection control.
As Ruben says, “When you keep your compliance up to par all the time, the beneficiaries are the patients, the staff, and the visitors.”
Mental well-being, then, isn’t just a human resource concern, it’s an operational imperative.
What FM Leaders Can Do
To combat the growing mental health strain caused by staffing shortages, Ruben recommends the following:
- Normalize the conversation: Ask your team members how they’re really doing
- Model vulnerability: Leaders who acknowledge stress create permission for others to do the same.
- Mandate rest: Build protected time into the schedule for recovery.
- Watch for warning signs: Changes in mood, body language, or engagement may indicate burnout.
- Invest in workforce development – Recruitment, mentoring, and succession planning ease the load on existing staff.
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