Poor control over work linked to burnout, intention to leave among clinicians

Having poor control over some aspects of work can lead to burnout among clinicians, reports a US study. For some, this may also result in having intentions to reduce effort or leave the organization.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among physicians from several institutions in the US between November 2022 and December 2023. The authors used the following to assess burnout and career intentions: a novel multicomponent measure of work control, Mini-Z single-item burnout measure, intent to reduce clinical hours (ITR), and intent to leave the current practice.

Among clinicians who responded to the survey, 1,318 of 2,144 (61.4 percent) reported adequate control over patient load, 1,301 of 2,144 (60.6 percent) adequate control over membership of their clinical team, and 1,434 of 2,339 (61.3 percent) adequate control over workload. 

In addition, 772 (49.0 percent and 1,175 (74.6 percent) of 1,574 respondents reported adequate control over staff hiring and clinical schedule, respectively. More than half (692 of 1,186, 58.3 percent) also reported having sufficient authority or autonomy over that for which they are accountable.

Multivariable analyses, adjusted for personal and professional characteristics, revealed that poor control over patient load, team composition, clinical schedule, domains for which the physician is accountable, and workload independently predicted burnout. Moreover, poor control over patient load and workload each correlated with ITR.

“Efforts to reduce burnout and improve retention should consider how to provide physician control over appropriate aspects of their clinical work environment,” the authors said.