The Development and Feasibility of a Workforce Wellness Leadership Academy

Burnout among practitioners working in health and behavioral health settings is pervasive. Workforce wellness initiatives that aim to combat burnout often focus on supporting individual employees rather than equipping health and behavioral healthcare leaders with processes to enhance wellness at the organizational level. This study describes the design, development, and initial pilot implementation of a Leadership Academy for health and behavioral health leaders aimed at promoting organizational wellness through a more systemic approach. Twenty-five leaders across different health and behavioral health settings from one southeastern state participated in a Leadership Academy. Pre-, post-, and module surveys were collected to understand the feasibility of this type of intervention. Quantitative data were descriptively analyzed, and qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis. Findings demonstrate that participants were satisfied with the Leadership Academy, and that participants valued collaborative learning, gained an increased awareness of organizational wellness broadly and within their own organizations, and learned about practical tools to assess organizational wellness. However, challenges with retention and sustained participation were noted. These results have important implications for social workers in considering the feasibility of this type of intervention along with addressing workforce wellness within health and behavioral health settings more broadly.