BURNOUT AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH WORKLOAD, STAFFING ADEQUACY AND JOB SATISFACTION AMONG OT PROFESSIONALS

Abstract

Background: Operating theatre professionals work in high-pressure clinical environments that may expose them to occupational burnout. Workload, staffing adequacy, and job satisfaction are important workplace factors that may influence professional well-being.

Objective: To assess burnout-related symptoms and determine their association with workload, staffing adequacy, and job satisfaction among operating theatre professionals.

Materials and methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 102 operating theatre professionals working in tertiary care hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. Data were collected using a structured, researcher-developed questionnaire covering demographic characteristics, burnout-related symptoms, perceived workload, staffing adequacy, and job satisfaction. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. Spearman's rank correlation was used to assess associations between study variables. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Among the 102 participants, 52 (51.0%) were females and 50 (49.0%) were males. The mean age was 32.80 ± 7.63 years. The mean burnout-related symptom score was 19.06 ± 2.16. A weak positive and statistically significant correlation was observed between burnout and workload (rₛ = 0.204, p = 0.040). However, correlations between burnout and staffing adequacy (rₛ = −0.133, p = 0.182) and job satisfaction (rₛ = 0.077, p = 0.440) were statistically non-significant. Burnout-related symptom scores differed significantly across professional designations (H = 10.760, p = 0.029), with OT technologists reporting the highest mean score (20.39 ± 2.99).

Conclusion: Higher perceived workload was significantly associated with increased burnout-related symptoms among operating theatre professionals. Professional designation was also significantly associated with differences in burnout-related scores. Appropriate workload distribution, supportive working environments, and organizational interventions may help improve occupational well-being among operating theatre personnel.