Endocrinologists: Burnout Increases, Work-Life Happiness Declines

The stress of the pandemic appears to be reflected in increasing rates of burnout and decreased reports of work-life happiness among endocrinologists in 2021 compared with the prior year. However, rates among endocrinologists are generally similar to physicians overall, according to the new Medscape Endocrinologist Lifestyle, Happiness & Burnout Report 2022.

In the survey of more than 13,000 physicians across 29 specialties, only 23% of endocrinologists reported being “very happy” outside of work, with 35% “somewhat happy.”

At 58% combined, the rate is about the same as physicians overall (59%), however, that rate is down from 81% of endocrinologists reporting being very or somewhat happy outside of work prior to the pandemic.

Meanwhile, approximately 50% of endocrinologists reported being burned out, which is in the upper range, ranking seventh among physicians, which is topped by emergency medicine and critical care (60% and 56% of those specialists reported being burned out, respectively), with dermatology and public health/preventive medicine at the bottom, with rates of 33% and 26%, respectively.

Overall, 47% of physicians report being burned out in 2021, up from 42% the previous year.

Of note, the rate of burnout among endocrinologists was nearly twice as high in women (65%) versus men (33%).

“There’s no question that women have reported far more role strain during the pandemic than men,” said Carol A. Bernstein, MD, a psychiatrist at Montefiore Health System and professor and vice chair for faculty development and well-being at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City, in the report.

“Often, women assumed more of the childcare and homeschooling responsibilities of their households. As a result, we know that more women dropped out of the workforce,” Bernstein notes. The caveat, however, is that past studies indicate women are more likely to report feelings of burnout than men.

The leading factors reported as contributing to burnout among endocrinologists include too many bureaucratic tasks (65%), too many work hours (38%), and increasing computerization of practice, such as use of electronic health records (36%).

About a third of endocrinologists (36%) say they believe their personality type is a contributing factor to their burnout.

As many as 72% of endocrinologists report their level of burnout is having a negative effect on their personal relationships, in line with similar experiences reported by 68% of physicians overall.

Many Turn to Anti-Stress, Mental Health Strategies

Key strategies to alleviate burnout reported by endocrinologists include meditation or other stress-reduction techniques (33%), reduced work hours (25%) and workflow, or staff changes to ease the workload (24%).

In terms of activities to maintain happiness and mental health, endocrinologists report activities such as reading or cooking (69%), spending time with family or friends (69%), or exercising (63%).

Most endocrinologists (82%) reporting being married or living with a partner, similar to 83% of physicians, and 49% report their marriages to be very good, with 31% reporting good marriages.

Significant differences between genders were also reported when it comes to parental stress among endocrinologists: while 41% of women reported being very conflicted as parents due to work demands, and 23% reported being conflicted, those rates were only 4% and 8%, respectively, among men.

Conversely, 38% of men reported being “not at all conflicted” between work demands and being a parent compared with 7% of women.

Those gender differences span nearly all occupations, according to a Pew research survey.

Meanwhile, just 47% of endocrinologists reported happiness with their current work-life balance compared with 66% prior to the pandemic.

And while only 22% said they were unhappy with their work-life balance prior to the pandemic, 40% report currently being unhappy with the balance.

To try to remedy the situation, as many as 46% of endocrinologists reported they would be willing to take a pay cut to improve their work-life balance through more free time, slightly lower than the 55% reported by physicians overall.

Medscape Endocrinologist Lifestyle, Happiness & Burnout Report 2022. Available here.

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