The determinants of burnout and professional turnover intentions among Canadian physicians: application of the job demands-resources model

Abstract

Background Burnout among physicians is growing at an exponential rate and many are leaving the profession. Nevertheless, the specific antecedents and intermediary stages involved in predicting their professional turnover intentions are not fully clear. Purpose We apply the Job Demands-Resources model and investigate an innovative model which predicts physician burnout and its ultimate consequences on professional turnover intentions. Methodology/approach Structural equation modeling was used on cross-sectional survey data from a sample of 407 Canadian physicians. Results/conclusions Job demands (work stress, work overload, and work-family conflict) and job resources (patient recognition and meaning at work) influence intention to leave the profession through a two stage health-impairment and motivational process related to health problems and professional commitment, respectively. Practical implications This study identifies key job resources and job demands which predict physician burnout and professional turnover intentions thereby pinpointing which levers managers can use improve their health and retain them in the profession.

Burnout, stress and intentions to leave work in New Zealand psychiatrists; a mixed methods cross sectional study

“…This suggests clinician’s wellbeing is significantly associated with perceptions of demand, how well resourced their mental health service is felt to be, and whether they feel they are provided with support. All these factors are recognised to constitute significant sources of stress and are understood as contributing factors in burnout research more widely [ 45 – 47 ]. The findings of this research are consistent with other studies where staff shortages, inadequate resourcing and a disjunction between the views and priorities of managers are emphasised as contributing to burnout [ 45 , 48 ].…”

“…One of the potential consequences of low job satisfaction was manifest in the respondents’ views concerning desire and plans to leave their work. There is an acknowledged relationship between low job satisfaction and intentions to leave medicine [ 51 , 52 ] as well as between intentions to leave medicine and rates of stress and burnout in doctors [ 47 ]. While understanding the relationship between burnout and work stress and intentions to leave psychiatry was not a specific focus of the research, the association found between low job satisfaction and thoughts of and intentions to leave work is noteworthy.…”

Stress and Turnover Intentions Within Healthcare Teams: The Mediating Role of Psychological Safety, and the Moderating Effect of COVID-19 Worry and Supervisor Support

“…Our results also contribute to a better understanding of how stress, particularly cognitive type stress, affects turnover intentions. Most studies on stress and its effects on turnover intentions focus on a chronic type of stress, particularly burnout (Hayes et al, 2012;Chênevert et al, 2021); and fewer have addressed the relationship with cognitive symptoms of stress (e.g., working memory difficulties, indifference to work, information overload and impaired concentration) (Rantanen et al, 2021). Cognitive stress has significant effects on the quality of attention and the performance of workers at healthcare organizations, as it increases the likelihood of errors at work and impairs the sense of self-efficacy, which has also been linked to increased intentions to quit (Buchbinder et al, 2001).…”

Association between burnout and stigma in physicians

“…Burnout in medical doctors can represent a high cost, as it is also related to early departures [ 4 , 12 ] and an increased desire to change professions [ 16 ]. Medical turnover about job dissatisfaction increases the costs of recruiting and retaining doctors [ 12 , 17 ] and decreases cohesion in the institution [ 18 ].…”