Sense of Belonging 'Critical' for Workplace Retention

Individuals who reported a neutral level of satisfaction with their sense of belonging were approximately 3 times more likely to express an intent to leave, while those who were dissatisfied were 7 times more likely to do so, compared to individuals who were satisfied with their sense of belonging.

By
Kerri Miller
April 23, 2025
3 min

MDSpire News

Objective:

To analyze the relationship between faculty members' sense of belonging and their intentions to leave medical schools.

Approach:

Study Design: A large cross-sectional study analyzing data from 15,915 faculty members across 26 U.S. medical schools.
Survey Tool: Responses were collected using the AAMC's StandPoint Faculty Engagement Survey (SFES) from March 2021 to June 2024.

Key Findings:

Faculty members dissatisfied with their sense of belonging are 7 times more likely to report intentions to leave.
Those with neutral feelings about belonging are approximately 3 times more likely to report intent to leave.
Women reported significantly less satisfaction with their sense of belonging compared to men.
Women identified with racial and ethnic minorities in clinical departments not practicing patient care had higher odds of intent to leave when dissatisfied.

Interpretation:

Limitations:

The study's cross-sectional design limits causal inferences.
Focus on faculty who completed the SFES with belonging assessment at the department level.