The influence of leadership development and psychological capital on burnout and turnover

Organizations should strive to function at the highest level possible. One way to create high functioning is to ensure the wellbeing of employees. Middle managers in healthcare directly influence organizational success, yet administrators overlook the wellbeing of this employee group. A literature review revealed a significant gap among the leadership development (LD) of those managers, which fostered burnout. Psychological capital (PsyCap) was a critical element of wellbeing, though the subsequent influence on burnout and turnover was unknown. A qualitative, single-case study occurred to determine the wellbeing of middle managers at a specified hospital in the Mid-West United States., specifically related to the development of burnout and turnover intention. The researcher utilized three data collection methods, with the primary method being interviews of 19 new middle managers from the study location. Five data themes were identified: burnout, turnover, leadership development, psychological capital, and LD combined with PsyCap. Compared to an extensive literature review and anticipated themes, a significant finding was that individuals with positive self-efficacy expressed higher burnout incidents, followed by resiliency when compared to other PsyCap elements. This outcome was contrary to the limited existing literature;additional research is necessary. As a whole, though, PsyCap positively appeared to decrease burnout and turnover intention. The other significant finding of this study was that the combination of LD and PsyCap appeared to have a compounding effect of decreasing burnout and turnover. Such a combination had not been previously studied, resulting in a unique contribution to the body of knowledge. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)