Postpandemic Changes to Employment and Employment Satisfaction in Early-Career and Career-Advancing Athletic Trainers.

CONTEXT

The labor market suffered a mass exodus of employees, including health care workers, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous research has highlighted the vulnerability of young professional athletic trainers (YPATs) to attrition. Investigating pandemic-related employment changes and their impact is essential for developing strategies to improve the retention of YPATs.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the impact of COVID-19 on YPATs' employment and the effect of COVID-19 and employment setting migration on outcome measures of personal and financial well-being, job and career satisfaction, and optimism about staying in the profession.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional, descriptive study.

SETTING

Web-based survey.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS

One thousand one hundred eleven participants responded to survey for an 9.1% response rate (n = 1111 of 12 180). Partial responses were included; thus, the number of respondents varied by question.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

A web-based survey composed of 34 closed-ended questions was disseminated to National Athletic Trainers' Association members in November 2022. Descriptive statistics including counts and frequencies for each surveyed item in addition to χ2 tests were used to analyze responses.

RESULTS

Of responding YPATs, 30.2% (n = 335 of 1111) changed employers and 25.7% (n = 286 of 1111) reported a change in employment setting. Notably, YPATs migrated from high school, collegiate, and professional athletics to clinic, industrial, or sales settings. Overall, the pandemic decreased job satisfaction, career satisfaction, and optimism about professional longevity. Changes in employment had a positive impact on personal well-being in addition to job and career satisfaction but not optimism regarding staying in the profession. Salary and work-life balance were reported as important predictors of short- and long-term retention for YPATs.

CONCLUSIONS

The pandemic brought changes to employers and employment settings for many YPATs. To reduce turnover and attrition, administrators must begin to prioritize employee well-being and satisfaction. In addition to increasing salary and reducing workload, employers should recognize the importance of administrative support in promoting well-being together with satisfaction and professional optimism in early professional and career-advancing athletic trainers.