Early Career South African Occupational Therapists' Perceptions of Person-Environment Fit in Work-Life Areas That Influence Work Stress.
Patricia de Witt, Morgann Bruce, Marica Botha and 1 others
PMID 39478970WHAT IT FOUND
Early career South African occupational therapists reported workload as the main mismatch.
The workload score was below the fit threshold. Control, community, fairness and values scored above the threshold, while reward fit was similar to the norm.
Key findings
01Workload had a mean person-environment fit score of 2.65, below the score of 3 that indicates mismatch.
02Control, reward, community, fairness and values had mean scores above 3, but reward was not clearly different from the norm.
03Workload fit was lowest in public clinical settings (100%), private rehabilitation centres (85%) and schools (75%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The survey used convenience and snowball sampling, so the 261 analysed respondents may not represent all early career occupational therapists in South Africa. Data were collected at one moment in time, so the study cannot show how person-environment fit changes over a career or after workplace changes. Subgroup analyses by employment setting, field of practice, years of experience, hours worked and time at the current organization used small samples, so those percentages should be read cautiously. The study measured self-reported person-environment fit, not independently observed workload, stress or burnout. The authors note that open-ended questions were not analysed, so the reasons behind the ratings were not explored in depth.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that workload causes burnout or that all early career occupational therapists in South Africa have poor work fit. The study measured self-reported fit at one time, and only workload had a mean below the mismatch threshold; subgroup percentages were based on small samples.