Workforce burnout in Cook County: A 2021 community conversation

Heat. Smoke. A surge of visitors. The lingering COVID-19 global pandemic.

Add these factors up and it’s made for another challenging summer for some Cook County businesses and employees. From small businesses to local government to medical professionals, the notion of ‘worker burnout’ is an important topic as the calendar prepares to turn to August.

WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs and Rhonda Silence hosted a community conversation July 29 on WTIP with community leaders, business owners, employees and healthcare professionals about what’s been a challenging year for the local workforce. Featured on the program were County Administrator James Joerke, Cook County Chamber of Commerce Director Jim Boyd, Andrea Orest from Sawtooth Mountain Clinic and Marcia Hyatt, a life coach in Cook County. Also featured on the program are local business owners Bruce Block and Courtney Quaife.