Burnout is defined as a state of depletion. Maslach (2017) splits burnout into three dimensions: emotional exhaustion (EE), which is the sensation of being depleted, weakened, and less energetic; cynicism/depersonalization, which is negative or inappropriate attitudes toward clients, irritability, the loss of idealism, and isolation from others; and inefficiency, characterized as diminished productivity or capability, low morale, and the inability to deal with challenging situations. There are several contributors to burnout, including a high chronic workload, lack of recognition, low social support characterized by lack of trust and incivility. Several researchers have studied burnout among nurses and physicians. However, no research studies burnout among non-nurses and non-physicians use mixed-methods of a survey and interviews. Therefore, this study examines experiences of burnout among mainly health systems’ administrative employees, who are defined as health systems’ employees who work in non -clinical areas, such as in the finance department. They do not medically treat patients as part of their daily work—that is, they are non-patient-facing. Examples of administrative employees include administrative assistants, financial analysts, and directors of marketing. Moreover, they include employees in leadership roles, such as managers and directors, and individual contributors, such as marketing associates and data analysts. Administrative employees comprise nearly half of the health systems’ workforce; their work significantly affects hospital performance. This research is novel because it is one of the first to study burnout among administrative employees in health systems using a survey and semi-structured interviews to determine drivers and the context of burnout for administrative health systems’ employees.
Author(s) Details:
Teray Johnson,
Data Sciences, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Harrisburg, PA, USA.
Mark Newman,
Data Sciences, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Harrisburg, PA, USA.
