A new study found that 81% of dental hygienists experience abusive supervision from managers, which is the primary driver of turnover intention in dental practices.
- Eighty-one percent of dental hygienists surveyed reported experiencing abusive supervision with varied frequency.
- Abusive supervision was a stronger predictor of turnover than psychological distress alone.
- The ADA's 2022 research identified negative workplace culture and bad leadership as the top reason hygienists quit.
- Dental practices should hold supervisors accountable for disrespectful and hostile behaviors.
About 8 in 10 dental hygienists have experienced abusive supervision -- when managers subject employees to sustained verbal and hostile behaviors -- that may lead to turnover intention. The study was published on October 4 in the Journal of Dental Hygiene.
The findings highlight the solid relationship between abusive supervision and turnover intention and should encourage employers to evaluate workplace environments and manager behaviors, the authors wrote.
“Dental practices should recognize the impact of abusive supervision by holding supervisors accountable when abusive behaviors (e.g., lack of respect) arise and provide support strategies to employees experiencing psychological distress,” wrote the study's lead author, Linda D. Boyd, RDH, RD, EdD, of the Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston.
To investigate the potential causes of dental workforce shortages, the ADA’s Health Policy Institute conducted research in 2022 that revealed negative workplace culture, like bad leadership, was the most common reason motivating hygienists to quit their jobs. Despite this finding, not much is known about what constitutes a negative workplace culture experienced by dental hygienists, according to the study.
To investigate abusive supervision and its relationship with dental hygienists’ psychological distress and turnover intention, hygienist participants completed a cross-sectional survey online. Researchers analyzed the data using regression modeling, descriptive statistics, and correlation analysis.
Of the 137 hygienists in the U.S. and Canada who completed the survey, 81% reported experiencing abusive supervision with varied frequency, the authors wrote.
Additionally, psychological distress (β = .27, p < 0.001) and abusive supervision (β 0.52, p < 0.001) were found to be predictors of turnover intention following regression modeling. In terms of projecting turnover intention, abusive supervision was stronger than psychological distress (R2 = 0.49, p < 0.001), the authors wrote.
However, the study had limitations, including that generalizability may be limited due to the nonprobability sampling method used in this research, the authors wrote.
In the future, studies should explore factors that may mitigate abusive behavior in dentistry, they wrote.
“Given the concerns regarding workforce shortages, this research underscores the need for employers to be conscious of abusive behaviors resulting in increased mental health issues and turnover intention among dental hygienists in their practice settings,” Boyd and colleagues wrote.
