Evidence for a negative loss spiral between co-worker social support and burnout: can psychosocial safety climate break the cycle?
Files
(Published version)
Date
2023
Authors
McLinton, S.S.
Jamieson, S.D.
Tuckey, M.R.
Dollard, M.F.
Owen, M.S.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Healthcare, 2023; 11(24, article no. 3168):1-15
Statement of Responsibility
Conference Name
Abstract
Previous research suggests that co-worker social support predicts burnout, but this relationship may be far more complex, with the potential for a reciprocal cycle of loss. Leading research on loss spirals has explicitly called for more research on interindividual factors such as social support and, by extension, how interventions that operate on these interpersonal resources could play a role in primary and secondary prevention (i.e., intervening in cycles of loss). In this study, we explore the reciprocal relationship between burnout and co-worker social support, with psychosocial safety climate (PSC) as an upstream predictor and moderator of this relationship. Using hierarchical linear modelling (N = 380 frontline healthcare workers, nested within N = 63 teams) on longitudinal data, we found a reciprocal relationship between burnout and co-worker support, which was both triggered and moderated by PSC. These findings provide initial evidence for a social support–burnout loss spiral, wherein individuals with poor co-worker support are more likely to become burnt-out, and in this depleted state they are subsequently less likely to reach out for those social supports when available, which would, in turn, lead to further burnout. This social support–burnout loss spiral is exacerbated when working in a low-PSC context, as the environment does not send positive safety signals about resource scarcity and replenishment. Therefore, PSC may be a potential target for intervention both in primary prevention (i.e., stopping the loss spiral in the first instance) and in secondary intervention, as high PSC signals to workers already in the burnout–support loss cycle when it is safe to reinvest resources or engage in recovery behavior.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Access Status
Rights
Copyright 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)