Personal Accomplishment and Hardiness in Reducing Emergency Stress and Burnout among COVID-19 Emergency Workers

Monia Vagni, Valeria Giostra, Tiziana Maiorano, Giuliano Santaniello and Daniela Pajardi
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Monia Vagni: Department of Humanities, University of Urbino, 61029 Urbino, Italy
Valeria Giostra: Department of Humanities, University of Urbino, 61029 Urbino, Italy
Tiziana Maiorano: Department of Humanities, University of Urbino, 61029 Urbino, Italy
Giuliano Santaniello: Department of Humanities, University of Urbino, 61029 Urbino, Italy
Daniela Pajardi: Department of Humanities, University of Urbino, 61029 Urbino, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: During the severe phase of the pandemic, COVID-19 emergency workers were engaged in long and numerous shifts of duty, resulting in exposure to various stress factors. A high stress level is associated with risk of burnout. Resilience and personal accomplishment can effectively help mitigate and reduce emergency stress levels and emotional exhaustion. The main aim of this study was to analyze the relationship of emergency stress and hardiness with burnout among emergency workers. The participants included 494 emergency volunteers from the Red Cross Committee in Veneto, Italy, engaged in various health, emergency, and social activities aimed at COVID-19 patients and people at risk of contracting the virus. Questionnaires used to measure emergency stress, hardiness and burnout were administered on an online platform. We analyzed the influence of age, sex, weekly hours of service, stress risk factors, and use of personal protective equipment. To verify the predictive effects of risk and protective factors on burnout, correlational and multivariate analyses, and regressions were conducted. Hardiness showed an effect in reducing emergency stress levels, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization and simultaneously increased personal accomplishment.

Keywords: emergency stress; hardiness; burnout; emergency workers; resilience; COVID-19; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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