Dutch survey finds supervisor-staff gaps on support in vet practices
Bottom line
A new AJVR study reports a consistent gap between how supervisors and employees in Dutch small- and medium-sized veterinary practices perceive supervisor support. Using a cross-sectional online survey fielded in May 2023, the researchers found that employees and supervisors did not fully agree on either the level of support being provided or whether that support was appropriate, suggesting that leaders may believe they’re meeting team needs more effectively than employees experience in practice. The authors also note important limits: the study used convenience sampling in the Netherlands, so the findings are best read as directional rather than broadly generalizable. (vetlit.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this lands in the middle of a larger workforce conversation. Earlier Dutch research by the same lead author linked leaving practice within 10 years of graduation to poor work-life balance, excessive workload, insufficient pay, and lack of employer support. More recent Dutch wellbeing monitoring has also found high workload, low social safety, and particular risk among younger employed veterinarians, while other veterinary workplace research has tied stronger team coordination to better job satisfaction and lower intent to leave. In other words, perception gaps around support aren’t just a culture issue, they may affect retention, wellbeing, and day-to-day practice stability. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
What to watch: Watch for follow-up work that tests which management changes actually narrow these perception gaps, especially in early-career and employee-heavy practice settings. (knmvd.nl)
A new study in the American Journal of Veterinary Research puts a finer point on a familiar workforce problem: supervisors and employees in Dutch small- and medium-sized veterinary practices don’t always see support the same way. The survey-based study, conducted in May 2023, examined how both groups perceived supervisor support levels and whether that support felt appropriate, and found meaningful differences between the two perspectives. (vetlit.org)
That question matters because it builds on a growing body of Dutch veterinary workforce research. In a 2023 Veterinary Record study, lead author Danse Sonneveld and colleagues found that veterinarians leaving practice within 10 years of graduation most often pointed to poor work-life balance, excessive workload, insufficient remuneration, and lack of employer support. More recently, the Royal Veterinary Association of the Netherlands’ mental health monitoring reported high workload, low social safety, and unwanted behavior in the profession, with younger employed veterinarians standing out as a higher-risk group. (bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
The new AJVR paper appears to focus specifically on small- and medium-sized practices, an important setting because those businesses often rely on close day-to-day relationships between practice leaders and staff. According to the abstract information available, the study used a cross-sectional online survey with convenience sampling, recruiting participants in the Netherlands through social media, veterinary journals, and university and organization emails. That design gives useful early insight into how support is experienced inside practices, but it also means the findings should be interpreted with caution and not treated as a definitive picture of the entire Dutch profession. (vetlit.org)
Even with those limits, the signal is notable. If supervisors believe support is present and appropriate, while employees experience something different, practices may miss warning signs until they show up elsewhere, through burnout, disengagement, conflict, or turnover. That concern lines up with broader veterinary workplace evidence. A 2025 JAVMA study of employees in corporate-owned veterinary hospitals found that stronger relational coordination within teams was associated with more favorable workplace psychological climate, higher job satisfaction, and lower intention to leave. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
There’s also some historical context here. Dutch veterinary researchers have been examining organizational culture and role-based differences for years. A much older study of 10 Dutch veterinary practices found that the gap between current and preferred organizational culture was largest for veterinary nurses, smaller for associates, and smallest for partners, suggesting that hierarchy-related perception differences in practice settings are not new. The new AJVR study updates that conversation by centering supervisor support directly. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the practical takeaway is that support can’t be judged only from the leadership side. Practices trying to improve retention or stabilize teams may need more structured feedback loops, clearer expectations, and more direct checks on whether employees actually experience coaching, flexibility, and psychological safety the way supervisors think they’re delivering them. That’s especially relevant in labor-tight environments, where even modest improvements in team climate can matter for keeping veterinarians and support staff in practice. (knmvd.nl)
This also has implications beyond the Netherlands. While the study is country-specific, the underlying issue, mismatched perceptions between leaders and staff, is widely recognizable across veterinary medicine. For U.S. and other practice leaders, the paper adds evidence to a broader industry message: workforce strain isn’t only about staffing numbers or compensation. It’s also about whether employees feel seen, backed up, and supported in ways that match what leadership intends. That’s an inference from the available evidence, but it’s a reasonable one given the consistency across related studies on support, culture, and retention. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
What to watch: The next step will be whether researchers or professional groups translate these findings into tested management interventions, such as supervisor training, regular climate surveys, or retention strategies aimed at younger employed veterinarians, and whether future studies use broader sampling to show how widespread these perception gaps really are. (knmvd.nl)