Burnout and work-privacy conflict - are there differences between full-time and part-time physicians?

Area of Science:

• Medical workforce research
• Occupational health psychology

Background:

• Physician working hours are shifting, with increasing part-time employment.
• Rising healthcare demands may exacerbate future physician shortages.
• Understanding the impact of working hours on physician well-being is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare work-privacy conflict and burnout levels between full-time and part-time physicians.
• To identify potential differences in job-related well-being based on working time models.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a sub-sample of 598 non-self-employed physicians from a baseline survey.
• Measurement of burnout and work-privacy conflict using adapted Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and COPSOQ.
• Descriptive statistics and regression models to analyze data.

Main Results:

• 31.8% of physicians worked part-time; part-time physicians were older and more likely female.
• Significant differences were found in work-privacy conflict, but not burnout, between part-time and full-time physicians.
• Regression analyses indicated confounding variables, such as medical setting, impact the relationship between job size and well-being.

Conclusions:

• Part-time work arrangements correlate with reduced work-privacy conflict.
• No significant differences in patient-related, work-related, or personal burnout were observed between groups.
• Further investigation into other job-related variables influencing physician well-being is warranted.