Human Sustainability in Pathology Medical Laboratory Workforce

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Occupational Health
• Laboratory Science

Background:

• Allied health laboratory burnout, marked by mental exhaustion, has escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This burnout negatively impacts workplace performance and threatens the sustainability of the laboratory workforce.
• An adequate laboratory testing workforce is crucial for an aging population and future pandemic preparedness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the critical issue of allied health laboratory burnout.
• To propose a novel approach for improving human workforce sustainability in laboratories.
• To outline an advocacy plan for implementing systemic changes in laboratory work environments.

Main Methods:

• Advocating for transparency and anonymous reporting mandates within laboratories.
• Developing a "human sustainability" score based on aggregated, anonymized data.
• Utilizing Bardach's eight-fold path paradigm to guide the implementation of the advocacy plan.

Main Results:

• The proposed "human sustainability" score will reflect the overall health of a laboratory's work environment.
• A competitive ranking system (e.g., "America's Most Admired Laboratories" and "Improvements-Needed" lists) can incentivize laboratories to prioritize workforce well-being.
• Increased awareness of workforce well-being and burnout rates is expected.

Conclusions:

• Transparency and anonymous reporting are key to reducing toxic work environments and enhancing human workforce sustainability.
• The proposed "human sustainability" score and ranking system can drive improvements in laboratory workplace health.
• Proactive measures are essential to ensure a robust and sustainable allied health laboratory workforce for current and future challenges.