Connecting Health Care Worker Well-being, Patient Safety and Organizational Change: The Triple Challenge

There is a growing realisation within healthcare that healthcare worker well-being, patient outcomes and organizational change are symbiotically linked (Montgomery & Maslach, 2019). We have accumulated enough evidence to demonstrate that job burnout has become a major problem within the field of healthcare. It is a response to prolonged exposure to occupational stressors, and it has serious consequences for healthcare professionals (HPs) and the organizations in which they work. Burnout is associated with sleep deprivation (Vela-Bueno et al., 2008), medical errors (Fahrenkopf et al., 2008; Prins et al., 2009; Shanafelt et al., 2010), poor quality of care (Linzer, 2018; Shirom, Nirel, & Vinokur, 2006), and low ratings of patient satisfaction (Vahey et al., 2004). Indeed, for US surgeons, burnout and depression were among the strongest factors related to reporting a recent major medical error (Shanafelt et al., 2011). Contrary to research findings and theory developments, there is growing acceptance among managers and the general public for viewing burnout as an individual failing while de-emphasizing the extent to which the syndrome reflects organizational and healthcare system shortcomings. The most recent meta-analysis in the field of burnout point to the fact there is a need for organisational solutions that address the factors that drive and maintain burnout (Panagioti et al., 2017). Unfortunately, the most common responses have put the responsibility on healthcare professionals to take better care of themselves, become more resilient, and cope with stressors on their own (Montgomery, Panagopoulou, Esmail, Richards, & Maslach, 2019).