Newswise — In her research, Amy Young, professor of teaching in business communications , explores the link between employee burnout and leadership. In two new papers, Young and her colleagues explore how improvements in leadership communication can remedy some of the challenges currently facing the healthcare industry, such as staffing shortages, burnout, and turnover. Three Key Takeaways In the following Q&A, Young discussed some of the key findings of her two studies and insights on how to best implement positive leadership communication.

Your research on healthcare worker burnout is incredibly relevant, particularly now. What drew you to test the effectiveness of leadership communication? There was a clear need for interventions in healthcare, even before the pandemic. Existing approaches to addressing burnout and turnover primarily focused on reducing workloads, having more flexible work schedules, and increasing compensation, which makes sense, given that these factors were contributing to burnout and turnover.

Realistically, though, ongoing staff shortages and financial shortfalls in healthcare centers and hospitals have made it difficult to actually implement these approaches. These challenges reflect larger systemic problems and an ongoing crisis in the healthcare industry. In your paper, “Positive Leadership within Breast Imaging: Impact on Burnout, Intent to Leave, and Engagement,” you designed and tested a training course for positive leadership.

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