Nursing homes face substantial challenges due to increasingly complex care needs, and difficulties in recruiting and retaining care workers. High job demands and stressful work conditions contribute to burnout risk, exacerbating workforce shortages and potentially impacting care quality.

To determine the level of burnout and examine its association with workplace and individual factors among nursing home care workers.

A secondary analysis using cross-sectional survey data from the Flanders Nursing Home (FLANH) project, collected from February to July 2023.

A total of 1416 care workers from 25 Flemish nursing homes were included, comprising care assistants (42.7%), registered nurses (20.6%), support staff (15%), allied health professionals (15.6%), and team leaders (6.0%).

Burnout levels were assessed using the short Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT-12). Linear mixed models were used to examine associations between burnout and workplace factors (including facility characteristics and work environment factors) and individual factors (including care worker characteristics and personal resources). Both univariable and multivariable analyses were conducted.

Of the nursing home care workers, 12.7% were identified as being at risk for burnout, and 6.3% were likely suffering from burnout, resulting in a total of 19.0%. Among facility characteristics, lower staffing levels were statistically significantly associated with higher burnout levels in the unadjusted analysis, though this effect attenuated once additional factors were included in the model. Regarding the work environment, the multivariable model showed that higher perceived role clarity and skill use were significantly associated with lower levels of burnout, whereas greater emotional burden and work-life interference were related to higher levels of burnout. Care worker characteristics also appear to play a role: younger age, longer work experience, higher employment rates (> 50%), and alternating between day and night shifts were significantly associated with higher levels of burnout. Also, care assistants experienced higher burnout levels than other care worker groups. Finally, personal resources, including self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism, were protective factors against burnout.

Our study showed that burnout risk is prevalent among nursing home care workers and is associated with both work environment and individual factors. These findings underscore the need for integrated strategies that improve workplace conditions and strengthen personal resources, while accounting for individual differences, to promote well-being and prevent burnout among all care workers in nursing homes.

Not registered.