Impact of nurse burnout on organizational and position turnover

Background: The National Academies of Medicine describes clinician burnout as a serious threat to organizational health, including employee turnover. Purpose: To determine the relationship between resilience, burnout, and organizational and position turnover. Methods: We surveyed direct care nurses in three hospitals 1 year apart between 2018 and 2019; 1,688 nurses completed 3,135 surveys included in analysis. Findings: Fifty-four percent of nurses in our sample suffer from moderate burnout, with emotional exhaustion scores increasing by 10% and cynicism scores increasing 19% after 1 year. The impact of burnout on organizational turnover was significant, with a 12% increase in a nurse leaving for each unit increase on the emotional exhaustion scale, though it was not a factor in position turnover. Discussion: These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence of nurse burnout and support policies and programs for annual measurement of burnout, increased employee wellbeing support, and improved work environments. Cite this article: Kelly, L.A., Gee, P.M., & Butler, R.J. (2021, January/February). Impact of nurse burnout on organizational and position turnover. Nurs Outlook, 69(1), 96-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. outlook.2020.06.008.

Automated summary

The study found that nurse burnout has a significant impact on organizational turnover, with increases in emotional exhaustion and cynicism leading to higher rates of nurses leaving. Therefore, further measurement of burnout, providing support for employee well-being, and improving work environments are crucial.