Workplace Dissatisfaction and Mental or Emotional Health: A Predictor of Turnover Intentions Among Governmental Public Health Employees.

More than 20% of governmental public health employees rated their mental or emotional health as suboptimal (fair or poor).

• Data drawn from the 2021 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS)
• Self-rated mental or emotional health (MEH) was assessed on a 5-point scale from poor to excellent
• The dependent variable was operationalized as 'fair or poor' ratings, categorized as suboptimal MEH
• Logistic regression was used to examine associations between workplace environment domains and suboptimal MEH

Employees who reported an intention to leave their positions in the next year were significantly more likely to report suboptimal mental or emotional health.

• OR: 2.17 for suboptimal MEH among those intending to leave
• P < .001
• This finding suggests a bidirectional relationship between poor MEH and turnover intentions
• Workplace dissatisfaction increased the probability of employees leaving public health roles

Employees in supervisory roles were significantly more likely to report suboptimal mental or emotional health compared to non-supervisory staff.

• Managers had OR: 1.28 for suboptimal MEH
• Executives had OR: 1.37 for suboptimal MEH
• Both manager and executive roles showed elevated odds relative to non-supervisory employees
• Supervisory role was identified as a significant predictor in logistic regression models

Satisfaction with organizational factors, such as training needs being met, was significantly associated with lower likelihood of reporting suboptimal mental or emotional health.

• Perceptions of workplace environment were examined using exploratory factor analysis, yielding three domains: organizational support & satisfaction, supervisor relationships, and work values & commitment
• Individuals satisfied with organizational factors were significantly less likely to report suboptimal MEH
• Perceived impact through their work was also associated with lower likelihood of suboptimal MEH
• The organizational support & satisfaction domain was a key predictor in logistic regression analyses

Exploratory factor analysis of workplace environment perceptions identified three distinct domains among public health employees.

• The three domains identified were: organizational support & satisfaction, supervisor relationships, and work values & commitment
• Data were drawn from the 2021 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey
• These domains were subsequently used as independent variables in logistic regression models predicting suboptimal MEH
• The factor analysis approach was used to reduce and structure the workplace environment perceptions items