Randomized controlled trial of job crafting as a digital health intervention for occupational burnout in psychological therapists

Objective: Occupational burnout is common in the mental healthcare workforce, with negative consequences for professionals and patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a digital health intervention to alleviate burnout in psychological therapists.

Method: This randomized controlled trial recruited 135 therapists working across 17 psychological services in England. The intervention involved six online group webinars based on principles of job crafting. Half of the participants accessed the intervention immediately (group 1) and half were assigned to a waitlist control group (group 2). After 6 weeks, group 2 started the intervention. Participants completed measures of burnout (primary outcome), wellbeing, and job satisfaction at four time-points (baseline, 6, 12, 36 weeks). Outcomes were compared between groups using mixed-effects models controlling for baseline severity and clustering by service.

Results: Differences between groups were statistically significant after 6 weeks, favoring job crafting versus waitlist control in burnout (d = 0.43, p < .001), wellbeing (d = -0.39, p = .023), and job satisfaction (d = -0.28, p = .006) measures. However, the magnitude of improvements relative to baseline levels declined over a 36-week period. Conclusion: A brief job crafting intervention led to short-term improvements in occupational health indicators.