Organizational consequences of staff turnover in outpatient substance abuse treatment programs

• Published in: Journal of substance abuse treatment Vol. 42; no. 2; pp. 143 - 150
• Main Authors: Knight, Danica K., Ph.D, Becan, Jennifer E., Ph.D, Flynn, Patrick M., Ph.D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.03.2012; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Ambulatory Care - organization & administration; Attitude of Health Personnel; Burnout, Professional; Coworker support; Humans; Job Satisfaction; Medical personnel; Occupational stress; Organizational functioning; Perceptions; Personnel Turnover; Psychiatry; Social support; Staff turnover; Stress; Substance abuse; Substance abuse treatment; Substance Abuse Treatment Centers - organization & administration; Substance-Related Disorders - therapy; Treatment methods; Turnover; Work environment; Workload; Workplace - organization & administration; Staff turnover; Substance abuse treatment; Organizational functioning; Stress; Coworker support
• ISSN: 0740-5472; 1873-6483
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsat.2011.10.009

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of staff turnover on perceptions of organizational demands and support among staff who remained employed in substance abuse treatment programs. The sample consisted of 353 clinical staff from 63 outpatient agencies. Two scales from the Survey of Organizational Functioning measured work environment demands (stress and inadequate staffing), and 3 measured supportive work relationships (communication, cohesion, and peer collaboration). Results from a series of multilevel models documented that counselors working in programs that had previously experienced high staff turnover perceived higher demands and lower support within their organization, even after controlling for other potentially burdensome factors such as budget, census, and individual measures of workload. Two individual-level variables, caseload and tenure, were important determinants of work environment demands but were not related to supportive work relationships. Findings suggest that staff turnover increases workplace demands, decreases perceptions of support, and underscores the need to reduce stress and minimize subsequent turnover among clinical staff.