Table 2.
Sources of occupational stress pertinent to burnout and the wellbeing of veterinary and other healthcare professionals (2, 4–6, 23, 26, 51, 75, 84, 141, 186–199).
| Avoidable/modifiable occupational stressors | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Organizational infrastructure and logistics | · Physical hazards | Schedule | · Fast paced workdays |
| · Workplace injuries | · Long work hours | ||
| · Workplace ergonomic issues | · Work-related sleep deprivation | ||
| · Insufficient, substandard or lack of work tools and equipment or resources | · Night schedule or on-call | ||
| · Type of practice/specialty | · Weekend schedule or on-call | ||
| Work assignment | · Excessive workload or high-level responsibilities | · Lack of control over one's daily schedule | |
| · Frequently shifting/changing work responsibilities | · Insufficient mental breaks, hydration, nutrition | ||
| · Work compression | Management | · Unclear work role expectations | |
| · Administrative task load | · Contradictory instructions/expectations from supervisors | ||
| · Technology, poor electronic medical record systems | · Promotion of individual rather than collective achievements | ||
| · Lack of autonomy or authority | · Competitive work environment; poor teamwork | ||
| · Poor alignment of responsibility and authority | · Real or perceived inequity in promotion or compensation | ||
| · Role conflicts between clinical service, research, education and administration | · Bias or discrimination (gender or otherwise) | ||
| Colleagues/Co-workers | · Poor functionality of team structures | · Harassment (sexual or otherwise) | |
| · Conflicts with peers | · Poor leadership | ||
| · Competing interests among the team | · Poor teamwork | ||
| · Workplace bullying or mobbing | · Insufficient positive feedback | ||
| · Absence of social support at work | · Moral injury or distress | ||
| Client/patient issues | · Client demands/expectations/complaints, high volume of requests for non-billable communications | · Poor leadership cohesion and shared vision, power dynamics, hierarchy problems | |
| · Caregiver burden, emotional labor of clinical empathy | · Poor organizational communication | ||
| · Client harassment or violence | · Excessive work pressure | ||
| · Social media and cyberbullying | Culture issues | · Presenteeism | |
| · Medical error or near miss | · Workism | ||
| · Fear of malpractice litigation | · Hidden curriculum | ||
| · Compassion fatigue | · Indefatiguable clinician construct | ||
| Unavoidable occupational stressors | |||
| Organizational | · Competition from other veterinary practices | Client/patient issues | · Client demands/expectations/complaints |
| · Accreditation, licensure, and certification requirements | · Ethical dilemmas regarding treatment options | ||
| · Insurance requirements | · Lack of client compliance | ||
| · National and state policies and laws | · Suspicion of patient/animal abuse | ||
| · Resource limitations | · Client economic limitations | ||
| · Practice management responsibilities for owners | · Experiencing adverse treatment outcomes | ||
| · Client grief | |||
| · Euthanasia | |||