Burnout is common in the healthcare industry and has negative consequences for patients, businesses, and individuals. Anxiety, sadness, excessive use of alcohol or drugs, cardiovascular issues, lost time at work, and poorer patient outcomes are all knock-on effects of burnout. It has been estimated that as many as 79% of respiratory therapists (RTs) and 50% of all healthcare employees suffer from burnout. Several studies have linked RT exhaustion to poor leadership. The goal of this research was to determine what factors are linked to people’s impressions of leadership. The factors associated with a positive view of leadership were identified through a post hoc analysis of a survey to assess RT burnout approved by an institutional review board and distributed via REDCap to 26 healthcare facilities (with 3,124 potential respondents) between January 17 and March 15, 2021. Validated instruments for gauging leadership, burnout, staffing, COVID-19 exposure, and demographics were included in the survey’s battery of questions. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to determine which variables were most strongly linked to how participants viewed their leader. About 710 (66%) of 1,080 respondents felt positive about leadership. Positive leaders were more likely to have adequate staffing, to rarely be unable to complete all work, to disagree that people in this work environment were burned out, to disagree that people in this work environment missed work for any reason, to be in a leadership position, to work fewer hours in intensive care, to work in a center affiliated with a medical school, to work day shift, to have a lower likelihood of being a lone worker, and to disagree that people in this work environment missed work for burnout. Care for COVID-19 patients was the only factor associated with a positive view of leadership (odds ratio [OR] 5.8-10.5, P<.001-.006) while working without adequate staffing (OR 0.27-0.28, P=.002-.006), staff RTs (OR 0.33, P<.001), work environment (OR 0.42), missing work for any reason (OR 0.69) and burnout score (OR 0.98, P<.001) The vast majority of RTs had a favorable opinion of their superiors. Higher burnout and absence from work rates were observed among those with lower leadership ratings. Additional research on this correlation is warranted to determine whether or not alterations to leadership methods can enhance employee satisfaction and lessen burnout.
Source: rc.rcjournal.com/content/67/10/1236
