Tea for the soul: a chaplain-led intervention impacting meaning & joy in healthcare workers

Burnout among healthcare workers has reached unprecedented rates following the COVID pandemic, with few studies looking at measures that might be protective against burnout. Additionally, few studies on how spiritual care interventions impact caregiver wellbeing exist. This study seeks to bridge this gap using a quasi-experimental model to evaluate the effectiveness of Tea for the Soul (TFS), a chaplain-led intervention, on caregivers’ experiences of meaning and joy in their work. TFS is an intervention designed to care for healthcare providers (HCP) in their workspace. This study found statistically significant improvement in five meaning measures within the Meaning and Joy in Work (MJW) instrument: (a) My daily work is important, (b) Positive happenings at work give me heightened energy, (c) The work I do serves a greater purpose, (d) My daily work goals are meaningful to me, and (e) My work contributes meaning to my life. Higher chaplain referrals were noted throughout the intervention, indicating increased chaplain utilization by the healthcare team. The results of this study suggest a need to explore chaplain-led interventions, like TFS, and their impact on caregivers’ meaning and joy in work as well as to explore interventions that would protect against burnout.