Response to Strategies and Interventions to Improve Health Care Professionals’ Well-Being and Reduce Burnout (JPC-23-0161.R1)

We are grateful that our article ¹ published in the Journal of Primary Care & Community Health has attracted interest. Our article proposes a social connection strategy (a book club) as an intervention contributing to well-being and decreased occupational burnout among health care workers. The need to address health care worker burnout, which is associated with depression and suicidal ideation among nurses, physicians, and medical students,^{2 -5} has never been more critical. Indeed, priorities of the US Surgeon General include health care worker burnout, workplace well-being, and social connection. ⁶ No health care worker is immune to burnout, an occupational phenomenon, ⁷ and interventions must be addressed broadly throughout clinical practice, education, and policy.^3,4 As discussed in the letter to the editor, ⁸ no single intervention will solve burnout.

Promoting a culture of well-being in the workplace contributes to improved staff performance and patient outcomes, and it supports individual well-being. ⁹ Persons who self-report higher levels of well-being are reported to have stronger social relationships, ¹⁰ and social connection is a known protective factor for better health outcomes. ¹¹ Efforts to achieve well-being in the workplace may include training on resiliency and burnout, paid time off, flexible schedules, continuing education opportunities, and career promotion and advancement.^3,12 Additionally, fostering a culture of psychological safety decreases any stigma of help-seeking and provides support resources to address physical, mental, and emotional health needs. ³

Health care workers may have limited hours available for social connection outside work because of busy schedules and other competing responsibilities; therefore, integrating opportunities for social connection at work is vital. However, substantial challenges at an organizational level may cause barriers to social connectedness during the workday. These barriers to social connection may include heavy workloads, staffing shortages, changes in team dynamics with work setting (on campus, remote, or hybrid), limited workday flexibility, and electronic health record documentation.

Recognizing social connection as a priority for health is the first step to solving burnout, and this idea should be accepted at an institutional level. ¹¹ Approaches to measure personal connection can “assess very different aspects of social relationships: structural, functional, and qualitative indicators of social connection.” ¹³ Although our pilot study was completed outside working hours, it lays the groundwork for this type of activity that uses social connection among health care workers to aim to decrease job burnout. Additionally, it might be beneficial to have these activities of social connections embedded into the workday to decrease burnout and to support work-life integration. Strengthening relationships among health care workers may promote shared experiences and ultimately improve workplace well-being.

In conclusion, the health care crises of burnout, poor workplace well-being, and low social connection are complex and multifaceted.^4,6 We can benchmark ideas from previous interventions to create effective methods that address and prevent burnout. It is vital to have institutional and national support for implementing workplace interventions that support and protect the well-being of health care workers.