Cross-sectional survey of workplace stressors associated with physician burnout measured by the Mini-Z and the Maslach Burnout Inventory

Abstract

Rising physician burnout has adverse effects on healthcare. This study aimed to identify remediable stressors associated with burnout using the 10-item Mini-Z and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and to compare performance of the Mini-Z's single-item burnout metric against the 22-item MBI. Surveys were emailed to 4,118 clinicians affiliated with an academic health system; 1,252 clicked the link, and 557 responded (completion rate 44%). Four hundred seventy-five practicing physicians were included: academic faculty (372), hospital employed (52), and private practitioners (81). Prevalence of burnout via the MBI was 56.6%. Predictors of burnout were poor control over workload [OR = 8.24, 95% CI 4.(81, 14.11)], inefficient teamwork [OR = 7.61, 95% (CI 3.28, 17.67)], insufficient documentation time [OR = 5.83, 95% (CI 3.35, 10.15)], hectic-chaotic work atmosphere [OR = 3.49, 95% (CI 2.12, 5.74)], lack of value-alignment with leadership [OR = 3.27, 95% (CI 2.12, 5.74)], and excessive electronic medical record time at home [OR = 1.99, 95% CI (1.21, 3.27)]. Academic faculty experienced more burnout than private practitioners (59.9% vs. 42.0%, p = 0.013). Odds of burnout associated with stressors were generally concordant via Mini-Z's burnout metric versus the MBI. The Mini-Z is a brief, valid method to identify stressors associated with burnout and guide interventions.

Keywords: engagement; job design/redesign; leadership; organizational stress; physician burnout.