The impact of workplace support components on the mental health and burnout of UK-based healthcare professionals: Insights from the CoPE-HCP cohort study

Study objective: To evaluate the influence of the perceived level of workplace support and its individual components in improving mental health and reducing burnout among healthcare professionals (HCPs). Design: In a cohort of 400 HCPs followed up since July 2020, a follow-up survey was done online...

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Main Authors: George Collett, Alaa Emad, Ajay K. Gupta
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Clinical Medicine
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470211825000429
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author George Collett
Alaa Emad
Ajay K. Gupta
author_facet George Collett
Alaa Emad
Ajay K. Gupta
author_sort George Collett
collection DOAJ
description Study objective: To evaluate the influence of the perceived level of workplace support and its individual components in improving mental health and reducing burnout among healthcare professionals (HCPs). Design: In a cohort of 400 HCPs followed up since July 2020, a follow-up survey was done online (August 2023) containing detailed questionnaires regarding workplace support and mental health. Participants: 400 UK-based HCPs. Main outcome measure(s): The level of individual workplace support components (perceived manager’s concern for staff welfare, transparent communication, adequate staffing/safety, visible and approachable leadership, and collegial/peer support) were assessed using self-rating scales. Depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), insomnia (ISI), mental wellbeing (SWEMWBS) and burnout (emotional exhaustion, aMBI-EE; and depersonalisation, aMBI-DP) were assessed using validated tools. Results: Compared with feeling unsupported, feeling supported was associated with a reduced risk of probable depression, insomnia, low wellbeing and burnout, and was associated with an increased perceived level of all individual support components. An increase in the perceived level of collegial/peer support was associated with reduced depression, anxiety, insomnia and burnout, and increased wellbeing scores (all p-values <0.01). An increase in the perceived level of managerial understanding of staff welfare was associated with reduced burnout (emotional exhaustion) among HCPs (p<0.05). There was also evidence that varying levels of visible and approachable leadership may impact on depression, anxiety and insomnia (p<0.05). Conclusions: Adverse mental health and burnout among HCPs may be mitigated by good quality workplace support, specifically by fostering collegial/peer support among staff and ensuring that managers show genuine understanding for staff welfare and are visible and approachable in their leadership. These findings may guide the allocation of workplace support resources for HCPs.
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spelling doaj-art-3cdeb389a0d24189b409b21936471ea92025-08-20T03:38:58ZengElsevierClinical Medicine1470-21182025-07-0125410032410.1016/j.clinme.2025.100324The impact of workplace support components on the mental health and burnout of UK-based healthcare professionals: Insights from the CoPE-HCP cohort studyGeorge Collett0Alaa Emad1Ajay K. Gupta2Clinical Pharmacology and Precision Medicine, William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UKBristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UKClinical Pharmacology and Precision Medicine, William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK; Barts Heart Centre, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK; Department of Clinical Pharmacology, The Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK; National Heart &amp; Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK; Corresponding author.Study objective: To evaluate the influence of the perceived level of workplace support and its individual components in improving mental health and reducing burnout among healthcare professionals (HCPs). Design: In a cohort of 400 HCPs followed up since July 2020, a follow-up survey was done online (August 2023) containing detailed questionnaires regarding workplace support and mental health. Participants: 400 UK-based HCPs. Main outcome measure(s): The level of individual workplace support components (perceived manager’s concern for staff welfare, transparent communication, adequate staffing/safety, visible and approachable leadership, and collegial/peer support) were assessed using self-rating scales. Depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), insomnia (ISI), mental wellbeing (SWEMWBS) and burnout (emotional exhaustion, aMBI-EE; and depersonalisation, aMBI-DP) were assessed using validated tools. Results: Compared with feeling unsupported, feeling supported was associated with a reduced risk of probable depression, insomnia, low wellbeing and burnout, and was associated with an increased perceived level of all individual support components. An increase in the perceived level of collegial/peer support was associated with reduced depression, anxiety, insomnia and burnout, and increased wellbeing scores (all p-values <0.01). An increase in the perceived level of managerial understanding of staff welfare was associated with reduced burnout (emotional exhaustion) among HCPs (p<0.05). There was also evidence that varying levels of visible and approachable leadership may impact on depression, anxiety and insomnia (p<0.05). Conclusions: Adverse mental health and burnout among HCPs may be mitigated by good quality workplace support, specifically by fostering collegial/peer support among staff and ensuring that managers show genuine understanding for staff welfare and are visible and approachable in their leadership. These findings may guide the allocation of workplace support resources for HCPs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470211825000429Workplace supportMental healthBurnoutHealthcare professionalsPeer supportCollegial support
spellingShingle George Collett
Alaa Emad
Ajay K. Gupta
The impact of workplace support components on the mental health and burnout of UK-based healthcare professionals: Insights from the CoPE-HCP cohort study
Clinical Medicine
Workplace support
Mental health
Burnout
Healthcare professionals
Peer support
Collegial support
title The impact of workplace support components on the mental health and burnout of UK-based healthcare professionals: Insights from the CoPE-HCP cohort study
title_full The impact of workplace support components on the mental health and burnout of UK-based healthcare professionals: Insights from the CoPE-HCP cohort study
title_fullStr The impact of workplace support components on the mental health and burnout of UK-based healthcare professionals: Insights from the CoPE-HCP cohort study
title_full_unstemmed The impact of workplace support components on the mental health and burnout of UK-based healthcare professionals: Insights from the CoPE-HCP cohort study
title_short The impact of workplace support components on the mental health and burnout of UK-based healthcare professionals: Insights from the CoPE-HCP cohort study
title_sort impact of workplace support components on the mental health and burnout of uk based healthcare professionals insights from the cope hcp cohort study
topic Workplace support
Mental health
Burnout
Healthcare professionals
Peer support
Collegial support
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470211825000429
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