Junior doctors receiving supervisor and peer support are more work-engaged professionals who express their voice for quality improvement

Abstract

Purpose In daily practice, junior doctors can contribute to quality improvement by providing innovative suggestions for change, referred to as voice behavior. Junior doctors are more likely to engage in voice behavior when they receive sufficient support from supervisors and peers. Such support has also been associated with less burnout and more work engagement. However, whether less burned-out and more work-engaged junior doctors demonstrate more voice behaviors in the face of sufficient supervisor and peer support is unclear. Therefore, we studied whether and how associations of supervisor and peer support with junior doctors’ voice behaviors are mediated by burnout and work engagement. Materials & methods Participants were 301 junior doctors that completed a web-based survey including validated questionnaires on supervisor and peer support, burnout, work engagement, and voice behavior. Results Supervisor and peer support were associated with lower levels of burnout and higher levels of work engagement. Work engagement, but not burnout, mediated the associations of supervisor and peer support with voice behaviors. Conclusions Junior doctors who received more supervisor or peer support were more work-engaged and reported more voice behaviors. Thus, supervisor and peer support should be cultivated to facilitate junior doctors’ roles as work-engaged professionals in quality improvement.