Key elements of the critical care work environment associated with burnout and compassion satisfaction

Background As the role of a health care system’s influence on nurse burnout becomes better understood, an understanding of the impact of a nurses’ work environment on burnout and well-being is also imperative. Objective To identify the key elements of a healthy work environment associated with burnout, secondary trauma, and compassion satisfaction, as well as the effect of burnout and the work environment on nurse turnover. Methods A total of 779 nurses in 24 critical care units at 13 hospitals completed a survey measuring burnout and quality of the work environment. Actual unit-level data for nurse turnover during a 5-month period were queried and compared with the survey results. Results Among nurses in the sample, 61% experience moderate burnout. In models controlling for key nurse characteristics including age, level of education, and professional recognition, 3 key elements of the work environment emerged as significant predictors of burnout: staffing, meaningful recognition, and effective decisionmaking. The latter 2 elements also predicted more compassion satisfaction among critical care nurses. In line with previous research, these findings affirm that younger age is associated with more burnout and less compassion satisfaction. Conclusions Efforts are recommended on these 3 elements of the work environment (staffing, meaningful recognition, effective decision-making) as part of a holistic, systems-based approach to addressing burnout and well-being. Such efforts, in addition to supporting personal resilience-building activities, should be undertaken especially with younger members of the workforce in order to begin to address the crisis of burnout in health care.