Burnout and Perceived Stress of Polish Emergency Call Takers and Dispatchers

Marta Makara-Studzińska, Maciej Załuski and Katarzyna Adamczyk
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Marta Makara-Studzińska: Division of Health Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum Jagiellonian University, 31-008 Cracow, Poland
Maciej Załuski: Division of Health Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum Jagiellonian University, 31-008 Cracow, Poland
Katarzyna Adamczyk: Division of Health Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum Jagiellonian University, 31-008 Cracow, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-16

Abstract: A scientific research has demonstrated that emergency call operators face unique risks to job stress and burnout. It was hypothesized that perceived stress (demonstrated as resourcefulness–helplessness dimension) may mediate relationships between work environments and burnout taking into account the buffering effect of self-efficacy. The participants of the study were 546 emergency dispatchers and call-takers from 14 Polish public-safety answering points. The Link Burnout Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale and the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale were employed. The method of path analysis was used and direct and indirect interactions between the variables were identified. Shorter work experience (fewer years on this specific job position) was associated with a higher level of burnout. The greater number of shifts per month was associated with a higher level of perceived stress (higher level of helplessness). Self-efficacy was combined with perceived stress by antagonistic relationships, but the assumed buffering effect on burnout was not confirmed. It was observed that engaging the resource of one’s own self-efficacy in professional work may lead to the loss of other personal resources, manifesting itself in the form of greater disappointment with the work performed.

Keywords: emergency call-taker and dispatcher; perceived stress; occupational burnout; self-efficacy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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