Perspectives and experiences of organizational leaders in outpatient physical therapy on job stressors: A mixed-methods study

Background Job 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.Objective 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.Methods 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.Results Twenty-one participants completed the surveys, and fifteen were interviewed. Moderate emotional exhaustion was found for 47.6% (n = 10) of participants. Depersonalization was low in 85.7% (n = 18), and 90.5% (n = 19) scored high for personal accomplishment. The lowest mean score for AWS domains was workload (M = 3.08, SD = 0.81) followed by fairness (M = 3.69, SD = 0.56), reward (M = 3.94, SD = 0.89), values (M = 4.00, SD = 0.54), community (M = 4.12, SD = 0.43), and control (M = 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.Conclusion 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.