ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Burnout, work engagement and work addiction are all considered components of psychological health in the workplace. Past research indicates that healthcare providers face significant challenges to their psychological wellbeing in the workplace. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to determine the extent of these components in a sample of Canadian occupational therapists. METHODS: An anonymous electronic survey including standardized measures of burnout, work engagement and work addiction. RESULTS: Participants' scores at times differed from previous research on burnout in the occupational therapy profession in that they demonstrated higher depersonalization scores and lower emotional exhaustion scores. Relationships emerged among a number of elements within the various measures, and participants' age and years of experience. Scores indicating a risk of burnout and work addiction clustered at certain times across participants' years of experience, and scores for vigour were low in comparison to an international study of healthcare workers. However, scores in other elements were high (for example, dedication and personal accomplishment), which theorists propose may serve a protective role in mitigating high scores in negative elements. CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrate a risk for diminished work-related psychological health and point to key areas for further investigation around which targeted interventions could be organized for members of the occupational therapy profession.
Subject(s)
Job Satisfaction , Occupational Therapists/psychology , Work Engagement , Adaptation, Psychological , Adult , Burnout, Professional/etiology , Burnout, Professional/psychology , Canada , Female , Humans , Internet , Male , Middle Aged , Psychometrics/instrumentation , Psychometrics/methods , Surveys and Questionnaires , Workplace/psychology , Workplace/standardsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Occupational therapists (OTs) work in all areas of health and wellbeing. The work is physically and psychologically demanding, but OTs are often not diligent about recognizing and attending to the workplace health and safety issue of fatigue in their own work settings. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to determine current issues and the evidence-base as presented in the literature so as to develop awareness and best practice interventions for fatigue reduction and management in occupational therapists' workplace. METHODS: A comprehensive search strategy was carried out by the medical librarian on the study team and themes were extracted from the relevant literature by the study team. RESULTS: The literature revealed little research directly addressing occupational therapy workplace fatigue and we expanded our review of the evidence-base across all healthcare workers to identify publications of particular relevance to occupational therapists. CONCLUSION: This background paper is an important first step to raising awareness among OTs, guide key stakeholders regarding contributing factors to, and consequences of, OTs' workplace fatigue, and set research direction. Knowing which factors influencing workplace fatigue are shared across healthcare professionals and which are unique to OTs can also help organizations develop more tailored workplace fatigue risk reduction programs. This review concludes with a list of existing guidelines and tools for developing workplace fatigue risk assessment and management programs relevant to occupational therapists.