Relative impact of psychosocial factors on burnout across healthcare professional roles

Background: High demands and limited resources characterize the work of healthcare professionals, often resulting in negative outcomes, including burnout. Yet, how burnout is affected by demands and resources may vary depending on professional roles. Aims: This study examines 1) the relative impact of psychosocial work factors (high job demands and low job resources) on subsequent burnout complaints and 2) how different healthcare professional roles may moderate the relationship between psychosocial work factors and burnout complaints. Methods: Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Occupational Health Survey in Healthcare in Sweden in 2022 and 2023. The analytical sample comprises 4,132 healthcare professionals, with 40% being physicians, 39% registered nurses (RNs), and 21% nurse assistants (NAs). The Burnout Assessment Tool was used to assess burnout complaints, and various scales were used to measure different job demands and resources. Dominance analysis investigated the relative impact of each exposure included in the analysis (psychosocial work factors) on burnout complaints. Thereafter, a moderation analysis was performed by the healthcare professional role, i.e., physicians, RNs, and NAs. Results: Generally, work-life interference was the most important psychosocial work factor in the development of subsequent burnout complaints. Further, work tasks, effort-reward imbalance, and work-life interference had a stronger negative effect on physicians' burnout complaints than on RNs. Effort-reward imbalance also had a stronger negative effect on NAs’ level of burnout complaints compared to RNs. Conclusions: Addressing burnout and supporting healthcare professionals’ well-being requires tailored interventions for specific work-related factors alongside broader strategies for the widespread challenges of burnout.