Perspectives and experiences of organizational leaders in outpatient physical therapy on job stressors: A mixed-methods study.
BackgroundObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusionJob stressors are a prevalent concern in physical therapy, influencing employee well-being, retention, patient care, and burnout risk. Although organizational leaders shape workplace environments and encounter job stressors that may contribute to burnout, l...
| Published in: | Physiotherapy Theory & Practice pp. 1 - 19 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jul2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=195116146&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 195116146 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 09593985 BCJ jtl: Physiotherapy Theory & Practice issn: 09593985 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jul2026 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania artinfo: ui: 195116146 10.1080/09593985.2026.2695768 195116146 ppf: 1 ppct: 18 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Perspectives and experiences of organizational leaders in outpatient physical therapy on job stressors: A mixed-methods study. aug: au: Nunez, Maria Anjanette Boyd, Shannon T. Newman, Lee Ferguson, Jeffrey J. Rentmeester, Casey Young, Jodi L. affil: Bellin College sug: ab: BackgroundObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusionJob stressors are a prevalent concern in physical therapy, influencing employee well-being, retention, patient care, and burnout risk. Although organizational leaders shape workplace environments and encounter job stressors that may contribute to burnout, limited evidence exists regarding their experiences.This mixed-methods study explored outpatient physical therapy leaders’ perceptions of job stressors for themselves and employees and assessed job-related stress and job-person fit.Participants completed a survey including demographic information, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Health Services Survey for Medical Professionals (MBI-HSS (MP)), and the Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS). Individual interviews further explored perspectives on stressors for themselves and employees. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data. Qualitative data were analyzed using two-cycle deductive and inductive coding.Twenty-one participants completed the surveys, and fifteen were interviewed. Moderate emotional exhaustion was found for 47.6% (<italic>n</italic> = 10) of participants. Depersonalization was low in 85.7% (<italic>n</italic> = 18), and 90.5% (<italic>n</italic> = 19) scored high for personal accomplishment. The lowest mean score for AWS domains was workload (<italic>M</italic> = 3.08, SD = 0.81) followed by fairness (<italic>M</italic> = 3.69, SD = 0.56), reward (<italic>M</italic> = 3.94, SD = 0.89), values (<italic>M</italic> = 4.00, SD = 0.54), community (<italic>M</italic> = 4.12, SD = 0.43), and control (<italic>M</italic> = 4.19, SD = 0.55). Themes of work overload, leadership strain, procedural justice fatigue, team dynamics, role uncertainty, and role effectiveness and recognition emerged through interviews.This study was the first to explore physical therapy leaders’ perceptions of job stressors and burnout. Nearly half of leaders reported moderate emotional exhaustion, while most reported high personal accomplishment and low levels of depersonalization. Workload had the lowest job-person fit. Leaders described multifactorial job stressors, notably linked to leadership roles and perceptions of employees’ challenges. Contextualization to leaders in the industry is limited due to the small sample size. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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