Which statement best describes the relationship between burnout and turnover in healthcare organizations?

• A. Burnout reduces turnover as staff stay longer to help others.
• B. Burnout has no impact on turnover.
• C. Burnout increases turnover, and higher turnover can increase workload for remaining staff, creating a cycle that perpetuates burnout.
• D. Turnover reduces burnout risk.

Answer: (C)

Burnout is exhaustion and disengagement that pushes healthcare workers to consider leaving their jobs. When burnout leads to turnover, vacancies force the remaining staff to pick up more patients, longer hours, and more admin work. That extra workload grows stress and burnout among those who stay, making them more likely to leave as well. It creates a self-perpetuating loop: burnout increases turnover, and turnover increases workload for the rest, which in turn sustains or worsens burnout. That reciprocal relationship is why this statement best describes how burnout and turnover reinforce each other in healthcare organizations.