SUPPORT AND RESILIENCE: KEY LEVERS IN IMPROVING WORK ENGAGEMENT IN HEALTHCARE PERSONNEL

Abstract

Recent years have been hard on the psychological well-being of health and social services workers. Whether due to the “dehumanization” condemned by many in the healthcare system (Agence QMI, 2021) or to excessive workloads (Statistics Canada, 2022), numerous workers have chosen to leave Canada’s healthcare system. The situation has only worsened since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, Siou and Cousineau (2022) reported that over 500 nurses, nursing assistants and personal support workers left their jobs between December 2021 and January 2022 in the province of Quebec. In June 2020, only three months after the start of the pandemic, 52% of Quebec healthcare workers were experiencing professional burnout (Brouillette, 2021).The current literature does not adequately meet the needs of managers trying to encourage healthcare workers to stay on the job. In short, while there has been abundant research on the factors that negatively impact psychological health in the workplace, there has been much less on the other side of the coin—the factors that promote psychological health in the workplace (Bliese et al., 2017). One factor known to have a negative impact is a perceived disequilibrium between a worker’s investment in their job and the support they receive from superiors. Nursing staff have in fact identified this disequilibrium as a major issue (Boivin-Desrochers & Alderson, 2014). Similarly, Moisson-Duthoit (2016) found that nurses frequently perceived a lack of recognition and consideration on the part of their organization…