Institutional Culture of Belonging Key to Reducing Attrition Among Health Care Professionals

A new study published in the Journal of Women’s Health examining factors influencing health care professional attrition found that institutional culture supporting workplace belonging plays a stronger role in reducing intent to leave than supervisor leadership behaviors alone. The findings offer targeted insight for health care institutions aiming to improve retention, particularly among women.

The study surveyed attendees of a continuing education course on women’s leadership skills in health care. Participants were asked about their intent to leave (ITL) their institution within 2 years, their perception of their supervisor’s leadership behaviors, and their experiences of workplace belonging. Factor analysis identified distinct dimensions of workplace belonging, which were analyzed alongside leadership perceptions in a multivariable ordinal logistic regression model.

Women represented 94% of survey participants. The analysis found that lower ITL was most strongly associated with frequent experiences of institutional culture supporting workplace belonging. Favorable perceptions of a supervisor’s leadership behaviors had a modest association with lower ITL, while interpersonal relationships supporting belonging had no significant impact.

“In the regression analysis, lower ITL was associated strongly with more frequent experiences of institutional culture supporting workplace belonging,” the authors reported. They also noted that ITL was “modestly” associated with perceptions of leadership behaviors, and not at all with interpersonal belonging experiences.

These findings suggest that health care institutions aiming to reduce attrition should prioritize structural and cultural strategies that enhance a sense of organizational belonging. The authors concluded, “Our findings point to investing in a culture of workplace belonging that involves a diverse workforce, an environment in which its professionals feel heard, supported, and empowered and are provided strong career advancement opportunities.”

The study underscores that workplace culture—not just individual supervisor relationships—is central to professional retention. For institutions concerned about financial stability, care quality, and workforce diversity, fostering a culture of institutional belonging may be a critical component in reducing attrition, particularly among women in health care.

Reference 
Schaechter JD, Silver EM, Zafonte RD, Silver JK. Intent to leave associated more strongly with workplace belonging than leadership behaviors of supervisor in women health care professionals. J Womens Health. Published online ahead of print January 10, 2025. doi:10.1089/jwh.2024.087