Cardiothoracic Radiologist Workload, Work Capacity, and Burnout Post-COVID: Results of a Survey From the Society of Thoracic Radiology

In this report and analysis of the results of a late 2021 post-COVID pandemic survey of members of the Society of Thoracic Radiology, we compared cardiothoracic radiologist workloads and burnout rates with those obtained from a prepandemic survey of society members. The more recent survey also asked respondents to provide a subjective assessment of their individual workload capacity should they be required to read cases at a section average daily case work volume, and this assessment was correlated with burnout rates. To measure nonrelative value unit workload, we requested data on non-case-related work responsibilities including teaching and multidisciplinary conferences that were not assessed in the first survey. In addition, we asked respondents to provide information on the availability of support services, personnel, and hardware and software tools that could improve work efficiency and reduce radiologist stress levels thereby mitigating burnout. We found that postpandemic case workload and cardiothoracic radiologists' burnout rates were similarly high compared with prepandemic levels with an overall burnout rate of 88% including a 100% burnout rate among women which had significantly increased. The range of radiologists' workload capacity is broad, although 80% of respondents reported that reading at an average sectional case volume was at or above their capacity, and the perceived capacity correlated with burnout measures. The presence of fellows and computer-aided diagnosis/artificial intelligence tools were each associated with significant decreases in burnout, providing 2 potential strategies that could be employed to address high cardiothoracic radiologist burnout rates.

An empirical study of entrepreneurial leadership and fear of COVID-19 impact on psychological wellbeing: A mediating effect of job insecurity

The empirical study proposes a model for investigating the effect of entrepreneurial leadership on job insecurity and employee psychological wellbeing during COVID-19 based on the combined theoretical grounds of The Conservation of Resources Theory and Social Learning. To explore the job insecurity relationship with psychological wellbeing, and measure the impact of Fear of COVID-19, an empirical study was conducted on a sample of 408 employees in Croatia. The data of the cross-sectional study was collected in November and December 2020. A strong influence of job insecurity on the psychological wellbeing of employees has been identified. Furthermore, fear of COVID-19 was found to have adverse psychological effects on wellbeing. The theorized positive impact of entrepreneurial leadership on job insecurity was not supported by the evidence. The strong point of our contribution lies in the finding that the entrepreneurial leadership style alone does not buffer against job insecurity, thus pointing that the more comprehensive inquiry into other organizational factors, such as coping, learning abilities, developmental opportunities, personal disposition, and pressure bearing. The research is the first step toward enhancing our understanding of the entrepreneurial dimension of transactional psychology. The observations we recorded have implications for research into the study of the mental processes and their impact on organizational proactive behavior.

Impact of abusive leader behavior on employee job insecurity: A mediating roles of emotional exhaustion and abusive peer behavior

Based on the social exchange theory, the present study aimed to investigate the association between abusive leader behavior and job insecurity while considering the serial intervention of abusive peer behavior and emotional exhaustion. Abusive leader behavior triggers abusive peer behaviors, emotional exhaustion, and job insecurity. Results from the data of 323 final responses indicated support for all the hypothesized relationships. Moreover, the findings also reported sequential mediation of abusive peer behavior and emotional exhaustion in the association between abusive leader behavior and job insecurity. The results indicate that mistreatment by an immediate boss can encourage peers to engage in similar unethical behaviors, leading to employees feeling emotionally exhausted, which ultimately results in job insecurity concerns. The study hopes that the findings will help practitioners dedicate more efforts to curtailing abusive behaviors that lead to several unintended consequences at work.

Securing jobs with individual trait and organisational support?

Purpose

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on organisations and employees, this study aims to investigate a reverse relationship between role conflict, burnout and job insecurity, and proposed emotional intelligence (EI) and organisational support as individual and organisational factors, respectively, that may moderate this chain relationship. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, this paper proposes that organisational support as an organisational factor and EI as an individual ability may aid in minimising the perception of the depletion of resources and play a moderating role in conflict–burnout–job insecurity relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was undertaken in Australia with a focus on those who were employed and worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was conducted online using the Qualtrics platform as it offers user-friendly features for respondents. In total, 723 usable responses were generated for data analysis. Structural equation modelling was performed to test the hypotheses of this study.

Findings

The results show that role conflict was significantly related to burnout, which in turn led to job insecurity. EI and organisational support reduced the impact of burnout on job insecurity.

Originality/value

Theoretically, this research deepens an understanding of COR and role theory and contributes to mental health research and organisational studies. COR depicts individuals’ reservation of resources for desired or expected outcomes. This study approached from a depletion of resources perspective and revealed the consequences for both individuals and organisations. This study also expands role theory and includes job and family-derived roles to deepen the role conflict during the pandemic. Whilst most research taps into the job performance and behaviour domain to understand the impact of role conflict, this study proposed a novel concept of a mediation relationship between role conflict, burnout and job insecurity in line with the status quo of the pandemic. Consequently, this study contributes to job attitude research by approaching the antecedents from a combination of organisational, individual and situational factors because role conflict is reflected as a clash of job demands, family obligations and responsibilities, and the pandemic situation.