Potential Implications of the Large Number of Respondents Who Prefer Not to Identify Gender or Race on Burnout Surveys.

Abstract

In burnout surveys, five to 15% of respondents prefer not to identify (PNTI) gender, race, or ethnicity and are often ignored in survey findings, yet this group of respondents appears to have the highest burnout rates. While stress is higher in workers who are Black, Indigenous, or other People of Color (BIPOC), burnout is often reported to be lower than in non-Hispanic White workers. Hypothesized reasons for not identifying include personal safety, perceived vulnerability, and believing little will occur in response to findings. Messaging survey safety, revising demographic queries, and acting upon findings may encourage individuals to identify race, gender, and ethnicity. If more respondents identified race, ethnicity, and gender, this would allow us to gain a fuller understanding of the lived experiences of all health care worker groups; the impact this may have on burnout rates in under-represented groups remains to be determined.