A survey of U.S. physicians and their partners regarding the impact of work-home conflict.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Work-home conflicts (WHC) threaten work-life balance among physicians, especially those in dual career relationships. In this study, we analyzed factors associated with WHC for physicians and their employed partners. METHODS: We surveyed 89,831 physicians from all specialty disciplines listed in the Physician Masterfile. Of the 7,288 (27.7 %) physicians who completed the survey, 1,644 provided the e-mail contact information of their partner. We surveyed these partners and 891 (54 %) responded. Burnout, quality of life (QOL), and depression were measured using validated instruments in both surveys. Satisfaction with career, work-life balance, and personal relationships, as well as experience of WHC were also evaluated. RESULTS: WHC within the previous 3 weeks were commonly experienced by physicians and their employed partners (44.3 % and 55.7 %, respectively). On multivariate analysis, greater work hours for physicians and their employed partners were independently associated with WHC (OR 1.31 and 1.23 for each additional 10 h, respectively, both p < 0.0001). Physicians and partners who had experienced a recent WHC were more likely to have symptoms of burnout (47.1 % vs. 26.6 % for physicians with and without WHC; 42.4 % vs. 23.8 % for partners with and without WHC, both p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: WHC are commonly experienced by physicians and their employed partners. These conflicts may be a major contributor to personal distress for physicians and their partners.