A new survey examining healthcare workers links depressive symptoms to a lower likelihood of long-term employment, while also identifying organizational factors that may mitigate this risk. The findings, published in the Journal of Health Organization and Management, are particularly relevant for healthcare systems facing ongoing staffing shortages and rising turnover costs.
Depression and Turnover Risk in Healthcare
Among 199 healthcare workers surveyed, approximately one in five screened positive for major depressive disorder. Those individuals were less likely to report plans to remain with their employer for at least 5 years. The results align with broader workforce trends linking mental health challenges to reduced productivity, absenteeism, and attrition, which carry direct financial implications for health systems.
Workforce instability continues to impose measurable costs, including recruitment, onboarding, and the loss of institutional knowledge. In high-demand clinical roles, these disruptions can also affect patient throughput and continuity of care.
Organizational Factors Offset Retention Risk
When researchers incorporated measures of psychological ownership and work engagement into their analysis, the relationship between depressive symptomology and intent to stay was no longer statistically significant. Psychological ownership refers to an employee's sense of connection and responsibility toward their organization, while work engagement captures levels of energy, focus, and commitment.
Psychological ownership was significantly positively associated with employees' likelihood of remaining with their employer (P<0.001). For work engagement, the relationship was smaller and marginally significant (P=0.061).
According to the study's authors, “These findings align with [the] Job Demands-Resources theory, which describes that when people have more resources, such as psychological ownership and work engagement, they cope better with the demands. Thus, these resources can support employees who meet the criteria for a provisional diagnosis of major depressive disorder to envision staying longer in their organization.â€
Implications for Health Systems
From an operational standpoint, the study points to modifiable drivers of retention beyond traditional compensation or staffing adjustments. Interventions that improve engagement or strengthen employees' connection to their workplace may help organizations stabilize their workforce without directly addressing clinical mental health conditions.
Potential strategies the authors note include increasing clinician autonomy, improving communication, and creating more structured opportunities for feedback and participation in decision-making. These approaches align with broader workforce strategies focused on engagement and organizational culture as determinants of retention.
The findings come as health systems continue to balance workforce shortages with financial pressures. Retention initiatives that address both well-being and engagement may offer a dual benefit: reducing turnover-related costs while maintaining clinical capacity. By identifying mechanisms that can mitigate attrition risk, the study provides insights for leaders seeking scalable approaches to workforce stability in a highly constrained labor market.
