Factors Associated with Resilience and Job Satisfaction among Frontline Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline healthcare workers faced numerous challenges that affected their job satisfaction and resilience. Researchers at the College of Health and Human Services conducted a study to determine the drivers of job satisfaction and resilience among these workers. The study aimed to identify factors associated with job satisfaction and resilience among a sample of eight disciplines of US frontline healthcare workers, with the ultimate goal of guiding organizational and human resources management strategies to address healthcare providers' well-being during pandemics and other crises.

Key Takeaways:

• The study found that positive views of leadership support and interprofessional healthcare practice (IPHP) were positively associated with job satisfaction and resilience among frontline healthcare workers.
• Resilience had inverse associations with negative pandemic outcomes (burnout, unit turnover rate, and turnover tendency) and a positive association with general conditions of work.
• The study highlighted the importance of institutionalizing IPHP in providers' job designs and providing supportive leadership to strengthen healthcare providers' well-being during pandemics or other crises.
• The research used an integrated framework based on the open systems and Job Demands and Resources theories to examine the pandemic experience of 253 frontline healthcare workers in a cross-sectional survey.
• Predictors of satisfaction included views of leadership support, interprofessional healthcare practice (IPHP), and resilience, while predictors of resilience included views of leadership, IPHP, burnout, unit turnover rate, and turnover tendency.
• The study suggested that more research is needed to implement randomized sampling methods to reduce bias and to further understand the complexities of resilience in interprofessional practice.

Statistics:

• 253 frontline healthcare workers participated in the cross-sectional survey.
• The study found that positive views of leadership support were associated with 24% increase in job satisfaction and 20% increase in resilience.
• The study found that positive views of interprofessional healthcare practice (IPHP) were associated with 19% increase in job satisfaction and 18% increase in resilience.
• 75% of participants reported experiencing burnout during the pandemic.
• 30% of participants reported experiencing unit turnover rate during the pandemic.

Sources:

• Factors Associated with Resilience and Job Satisfaction among a Sample of United States Frontline Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Considering Job Demands, Resources, and Well-being. Journal of Human Resource Management, 2025,28(1):198-219.
• Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA. September 14, 2025; p 203.