RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Work team identification associated with less stress and burnout among front-line emergency department staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic JF BMJ Leader JO BMJ Leader FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP 51 OP 54 DO 10.1136/leader-2020-000331 VO 5 IS 1 A1 Sangal, Rohit B A1 Wrzesniewski, Amy A1 DiBenigno, Julia A1 Reid, Eleanor A1 Ulrich, Andrew A1 Liebhardt, Beth A1 Bray, Alexandra A1 Yang, Elisabeth A1 Eun, Eunice A1 Venkatesh, Arjun K A1 King, Marissa YR 2021 UL http://bmjleader.bmj.com/content/5/1/51.abstract AB Background The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed front-line healthcare workers to unprecedented risks and stressors threatening both physical and mental health. Prior work in the military has found that team identification, or the sense that one was a part of a team, can help reduce stress and prevent burnout during prolonged stress.Methods We conducted repeated cross-sectional surveys embedded within emergency department workflow to understand whether team identification was associated with reduced reports of stress and burnout among front-line workers.Results During the 10-week study which spanned the first wave of COVID-19, 327 of 431 (76%) front-line healthcare workers responded to at least one round of the survey. Higher team identification was associated with significantly less work stress (B=−0.60, 95% CI −0.84 to to -0.40, p<0.001) and burnout (B=−12.87, 95% CI −17.73 to -8.02, p<0.001) in cross-sectional analyses. Further evidence of the protective effect of team identification for work stress (B=−0.36, 95% CI −0.76 to 0.05, p=0.09) and burnout (B=−13.25, 95% CI −17.77 to -8.73, p<0.001) was also found in prospective longitudinal evidence.Conclusion This work suggests work team identification is a key buffering factor against feelings of stress and burnout. Efforts to promote team identification may offer a promising way for leaders to support front-line healthcare workers’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. These results can inform ongoing COVID-19 operational and quality improvement initiatives.