Unethical Leadership in Critical Care Teams Can Increase Burnout Among Healthcare Professionals

BACKGROUND Working in healthcare imposes a significant psychological burden on professionals, affecting their attitudes and job satisfaction. The pivotal role in the effective functioning of the team is that of the leader, who must exercise effective management. In addition to managerial activities, the leader's role encompasses fostering a positive team atmosphere and ensuring the provision of adequate support. The main objective of this study was to measurably assess the impact of critical care team leaders' negative behaviors on the incidence of professional burnout among medical professionals. MATERIAL AND METHODS Online cross-sectional survey was sent via social media groups and channels to Polish medical professionals who are members of critical care teams (but not team leaders). We obtained 146 replies. The survey consisted of a consent form, demographic questions, a self-designed questionnaire concerning non-technical aspects of leadership in their critical care teams, and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) questionnaire. RESULTS Principal Component Analysis (PCA) divided the self-designed questionnaire into 2 subscales: "unethical leadership" and "flurried leadership". The Cronbach's alpha of the questionnaire was 0.814. OLBI total score and exhaustion were positively correlated with results of our self-designed questionnaire: total and 'unethical leadership' subscale. CONCLUSIONS Unethical leadership in critical care teams can increase burnout among health professionals. Higher levels of exhaustion in the OLBI questionnaire were observed among participants who report lower level of leaders' ethics. There is a need for further studies concerning this subject. Educational efforts are needed to improve the level of ethics among healthcare team leaders.