The Impact of Organizational Justice And Support On Burnout Among Healthcare Workers: A Mixed Methods Study

Burnout has long been a topic of concern in the healthcare sector and has become increasingly dire since the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, there is still a substantial gap in our ability to address it equitably, organizationally, and in a manner that is adapted to today’s multidisciplinary healthcare sector.

Julian Cohen-Serrins, PhD, Assistant Director of Workplace Well-Being at New York University, using an MRI Grant, examined how perceived organizational justice and organizational support influence burnout among healthcare providers, specifically nurses, social workers, and physicians, in the wake of heightened burnout since the COVID-19 pandemic. His study hypothesized that greater perceptions of justice and support would correlate with lower levels of burnout.

Using a mixed-methods approach Dr. Cohen-Serrins surveyed 11,684 actively licensed healthcare workers and conducted nine focus groups with 44 participants (three groups for each provider type). The study aimed to analyze statistical relationships, compare provider types, and explore providers’ experiences and perceptions.

The quantitative results supported the studies hypotheses by indicating that perceived organizational support and justice had a significant inverse relationship to burnout. Additionally, the predictor variables were found to have a large effect on the variance of burnout scores across the sample, indicating a strong model fit. From the qualitative findings, burnout was stated to commonly present as anger, exhaustion, physical reactions, and decision fatigue. The main causes of burnout related to pay, staffing, work procedures, and organizational culture. Finally, suggested solutions to burnout included increased pay, self-care, and more supportive leadership. All the groups agreed on the critical role of authenticity in relation to organizational support and organizational justice in mitigating burnout.

The study concludes that interventions to reduce burnout should prioritize improving perceptions of organizational support and justice. These findings support both preventive and reactive strategies to tackle burnout. Organizational culture can be a modifiable factor with broad, positive impacts on staff well-being.