Impact of leadership behaviour on physician well-being, burnout, professional fulfilment and intent to leave: a multicentre cross-sectional survey study

OBJECTIVE: To examine how perceived leadership behaviours affect burnout, professional fulfilment and intent to leave the organisation among physicians. DESIGN: Anonymous cross-sectional survey study from November 2016 to October 2018. SETTING: 12 036 attending and resident physicians at 11 healthcare organisations participating in the Physician Wellness Academic Consortium (PWAC) were surveyed to assess burnout and professional fulfilment and their drivers. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 5416 attending physicians with complete data on gender, specialty, leadership, burnout and professional fulfilment. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The leadership behaviour of each physician’s supervisor was assessed using the Mayo Clinic Participatory Management Leadership Index and categorised in tertiles. Multivariable logistic regression analyses examined the effect of leadership behaviour rating of each physician’s supervisor on burnout, professional fulfilment and intent to leave controlling for gender and specialty. RESULTS: The response rate was 45% across 11 institutions. Half of the respondents were female. Professional fulfilment increased with increasing tertiles of leadership behaviour rating (19%, 34%, 47%, p<0.001). The odds of professional fulfilment were 5.8 times higher (OR=5.8, 95% CI: 5.1 to 6.59) for physicians in the top tertile compared with those in the lowest tertile. Physicians in the top tertile were also 48% less likely to be burned out (OR=0.52, 95% CI: 0.45 to 0.61) and reported 66% lower intent to leave (OR=0.34, 95% CI: 0.26 to 0.44). Individuals who rated their supervisor’s leadership in upper tertiles relative to lower tertiles exhibited lower levels of burnout (18% vs 35% vs 47%, p<0.001), and intent to leave (16% vs 24% vs 50% p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Perceived leadership behaviours have a strong relationship with burnout, professional fulfilment and intent to leave among physicians. Organisations should consider leadership development as a potential vehicle to improve physician wellness and prevent costly physician departures.