Prevalence of and Factors Associated With Nurse Burnout in the US (2024)

Associated Data

Supplementary Materials

Key Points

This secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey measures burnout rates and examines factors associated with leaving or considering leaving employment owing to burnout among US nurses.

Abstract

Introduction

Clinician burnout is a threat to US health and health care.¹ At more than 6 million in 2019,² nurses are the largest segment of our health care workforce, making up nearly 30% of hospital employment nationwide.³ Nurses are a critical group of clinicians with diverse skills, such as health promotion, disease prevention, and direct treatment. As the workloads on health care systems and clinicians have grown, so have the demands placed on nurses, negatively affecting the nursing work environment. When combined with the ever-growing stress associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, this situation could leave the US with an unstable nurse workforce for years to come. Given their far-ranging skill set, importance in the care team, and proportion of the health care workforce, it is imperative that we better understand job-related outcomes and the factors that contribute to burnout in nurses nationwide.

Demanding workloads and aspects of the work environment, such as poor staffing ratios, lack of communication between physicians and nurses, and lack of organizational leadership within working environments for nurses, are known to be associated with burnout in nurses.^4,5 However, few, if any, recent national estimates of nurse burnout and contributing factors exist. We used the most recent nationally representative nurse survey data to characterize burnout in the nurse workforce before COVID-19. Specifically, we examined to what extent aspects of the work environment resulted in nurses leaving the workforce and the factors associated with nurses’ intention to leave their jobs and the nursing profession.

Methods

Results

The 3 957 661 nurse respondents in 2018 were mostly female (90.4%) and White (80.7%). The mean (weighted SD) age of nurse respondents was 48.7 (0.04) years, and 95.3% were US graduates. The percentage of nurses with a BSN degree was 45.8%; with an MSN, PhD, or DNP degree, 16.3%; and 49.5% of nurses reported that they worked in a hospital. The mean (weighted SD) age of nurses who left their job due to burnout was 42.0 (0.6) years; for those considering leaving their job due to burnout, 43.7 (0.3) years (Table 1).

Of the total sample of nurses (N = 3 957 661), 9.5% reported leaving their most recent position (n = 418 769), and of those, 31.5% reported burnout as a reason contributing to their decision to leave their job (3.3% of the total sample) (eTable in the Supplement). For nurses who had considered leaving their position (n = 676 122), 43.4% identified burnout as a reason that would contribute to their decision to leave their current job. Additional factors in these decisions were a stressful work environment (34.4% as the reason for leaving and 41.6% as the reason for considering leaving), inadequate staffing (30.0% as the reason for leaving and 42.6% as the reason for considering leaving), lack of good management or leadership (33.9% as the reason for leaving and 39.6% as the reason for considering leaving), and better pay and/or benefits (26.5% as the reason for leaving and 50.4% as the reason for considering leaving). By geographic regions of the US, lower proportions of nurses reported burnout in the West (16.6%), and higher proportions reported burnout in the Southeast (30.0%) (Figure 1 and Figure 2). Figure 3 shows the overlap between leaving or considering leaving their position owing to burnout and other reasons. For both outcomes, the highest overlap response with burnout was for stressful work environment (68.6% of those who left their job and 63.0% of those who considered leaving their job due to burnout).

The adjusted regression models estimating the odds of nurses indicating burnout as a reason for leaving their positions or considering leaving their position revealed statistically significant associations between workplace settings and hours worked per week, but not for tasks performed, and burnout (Table 2). For nurses who had left their jobs, compared with nurses working in a clinic setting, nurses working in a hospital setting had more than twice higher odds of identifying burnout as a reason for leaving their position (OR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.41-3.13); nurses working in other inpatient settings had an OR of 2.26 (95% CI, 1.39-3.68). Compared with working less than 20 h/wk, nurses who worked more than 40 h/wk had an OR of 3.28 (95% CI, 1.61-6.67) for identifying burnout as a reason they left their position.

For nurses who reported ever considering leaving their job, working in a hospital setting was associated with 80% higher odds of burnout as the reason than for nurses working in a clinic setting (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.55-2.08), whereas among nurses who worked in other inpatient settings, burnout was associated with a 35% higher odds that nurses intended to leave their job (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.05-1.73). Compared with working less than 20 h/wk, the odds of identifying burnout as a reason for considering leaving their position increased with working 20 to 30 h/wk (OR, 2.56; 95% CI, 1.85-3.55), 31 to 40 h/wk, (OR, 2.98; 95% CI, 2.24-3.98), and more than 40 h/wk, (OR, 3.64; 95% CI, 2.73-4.85).

The sensitivity analysis results in which a broader classification of burnout was used showed a similar relationship between odds of burnout and working more than 40 h/wk (OR, 3.86; 95% CI, 2.27-6.59) for those who left their job (OR, 2.66; 95% CI, 2.13-3.31). Stratification by those younger than 45 years and 45 years or older did not significantly change the findings. Figure 3 shows the overlap in nurses who reported burnout and other reasons for leaving their current position or considering leaving their current positions. The greatest overlap occurred in responses of burnout and stressful work environment (68.6% of those who reported leaving and 59.5% of those who considered leaving) and inadequate staffing (63.0% of those who reported leaving and 60.9% of those who considered leaving).

Discussion

Our findings from the 2018 NSSRN show that among those nurses who reported leaving their jobs in 2017, high proportions of US nurses reported leaving owing to burnout. Hospital setting was associated with greater odds of identifying burnout in decisions to leave or to consider leaving a nursing position, and there was no difference by dominant work function.

Health care professionals are generally considered to be in one of the highest-risk groups for experience of burnout, given the emotional strain and stressful work environment of providing care to sick or dying patients.^8,9 Previous studies demonstrate that 35% to 54% of clinicians in the US experience burnout symptoms.^10,11,12,13 The recent National Academy of Medicine report, “Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being,” recommended health care organizations routinely measure and monitor clinician burnout and hold leaders accountable for the health of their organization’s work environment in an effort to reduce burnout and promote well-being.¹

Moreover, it appears the numbers have increased over time. Data from the 2008 NSSRN showed that approximately 17% of nurses who left their position in 2007 cited burnout as the reason for leaving,¹⁴ and our data show that 31.5% of nurses cited burnout as the reason for leaving their job in the last year (2017-2018). Despite this evidence, little has changed in health care delivery and the role of registered nurses. The COVID-19 pandemic has further complicated matters; for example, understaffing of nurses in New York and Illinois was associated with increased odds of burnout amidst high patient volumes and pandemic-related anxiety.¹⁵

Our findings show that among nurses who reported leaving their job owning to burnout, a high proportion reported a stressful work environment. Substantial evidence documents that aspects of the work environment are associated with nurse burnout. Increased workloads, lack of support from leadership, and lack of collaboration among nurses and physicians have been cited as factors that contribute to nurse burnout.^4,16 Magnet hospitals and other hospitals with a reputation for high-quality nursing care have shown that transforming features of the work environment, including support for education, positive physician-nurse relationships, nurse autonomy, and nurse manager support, outside of increasing the number of nurses, can lead to improvements in job satisfaction and lower burnout among nurses.^17,18,19 The qualities of Magnet hospitals not only attract and retain nurses and result in better nurse outcomes, based on features of the work environment, but also improvements in the overall quality of patient care.^17,18,19

Self-reported regional variation in burnout deserves attention. The lower reported rates of nurse burnout in California and Massachusetts could be attributed to legislation in these states regulating nurse staffing ratios; California has the most extensive nurse staffing legislation in the US.²⁰ The high rates of reported burnout in the Southeast and the overlap of burnout and inadequate staffing in our findings could be driven by shortages of nurses in the states in this area, particularly South Carolina and Georgia.¹⁵ Geographic distribution, nurse staffing, and its association with self-reported burnout warrant further exploration.

Our data show that the number of hours worked per week by nurses, but not the dominant function at work, was positively associated with identifying burnout as a reason for leaving their position or considering leaving their position. Research suggests nurses who work longer shifts and who experience sleep deprivation are likely to develop burnout.^21,22,23 Others have reported a strong correlation between sleep deprivation and errors in the delivery of patient care.^22,24 Emotional exhaustion has been identified as a major component of burnout; such exhaustion is likely exacerbated by excessive work hours and inadequate sleep.^25,26

The nurse workforce represents most current frontline workers providing care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Literature from past epidemics (eg, H1N1 influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, Ebola) suggest that nurses experience significant stress, anxiety, and physical effects related to their work.²⁷ These factors will most certainly be amplified during the current pandemic, placing the nurse workforce at risk of increased strain. Recent reports suggest that nurses are leaving the bedside owing to COVID-19 at a time when multiple states are reporting a severe nursing shortage.^28,29,30,31 Furthermore, given that the nurse workforce is predominantly female and married, the child rearing and domestic responsibilities of current lockdowns and quarantines can only increase their burden and risk of burnout. Our results demonstrate that the mean age at which nurses who have left or considered leaving their current jobs is younger than 45 years. In the present context, our results forewarn of major effects to the frontline nurse workforce. Further studies are needed to elucidate the effect of the current pandemic on the nurse workforce, particularly among younger nurses of color, who are underrepresented in these data. Policy makers and health systems should also focus on aspects of the work environment known to improve job satisfaction, including staffing ratios, continued nursing education, and support for interdisciplinary teamwork.

Conclusions

Burnout continues to be reported by registered nurses across a variety of practice settings nationwide. How the COVID-19 pandemic will affect burnout rates owing to unprecedented demands on the workforce is yet to be determined. Legislation that supports adequate staffing ratios is a key part of a multitiered solution. Solutions must come through system-level efforts in which we reimagine and innovate workflow, human resources, and workplace wellness to reduce or eliminate burnout among frontline nurses and work toward healthier clinicians, better health, better care, and lower costs.³²

Notes

References