Perceived and Received Support by Academic Medicine Faculty During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Single Institution Study

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted healthcare worker well-being, leading to increased burnout and decreased workplace engagement. To combat expected stressors from the pandemic, our mid-sized academic health center implemented numerous institutional support, such as town halls, and virtual support groups. This study aimed to evaluate faculty utilization of institutional support, its association with perceived organizational support, received organizational support, and burnout.

A retrospective, cross-sectional survey was distributed to 630 faculty employed at our institution in September 2020, assessing participant demographics, institutional support utilized, perceived organizational support, and burnout, through a combination of self-report measures and qualitative responses.

A total of 79 (12.5%) faculty provided complete responses and were included in the analysis. Qualitative analysis identified 4 primary themes: (1) flexibility and adjusted expectations, (2) direct communication, (3) sense of community, and (4) no support felt, with additional subthemes within each larger theme. Increased utilization of institutional support was associated with decreased odds of experiencing burnout.

Flexibility, communication, and sense of community emerged as important strategies for maintaining faculty well-being and engagement during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study suggests that utilization of workplace support is protective against burnout. Perceived support was not beneficial.