Driver-passenger communicative stress and psychological distress among Chinese bus drivers: the mediating effect of job burnout

Abstract

Background This study aimed to investigate the relationship between driver-passenger communicative stress and psychological distress among bus drivers, as well as whether job burnout mediates the effect of driver-passenger communicative stress on psychological distress. Methods A questionnaire consisting of a 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), a one-item driver-passenger communicative stress scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), as well as sociodemographic and work factors, was distributed to 310 bus drivers in Shanghai, of which 307 completed it (99.0% response rate). A parallel multiple mediation model with bootstrap approach, was calculated to test the mediating effect. Results Driver-passenger communicative stress, emotional exhaustion and cynicism were positively associated with psychological distress. Communicative stress was significantly positively linked with two of the three dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion and cynicism) and dependent variable. Emotional exhaustion and cynicism were positively associated with the dependent variable. The results indicate that emotional exhaustion and cynicism partially mediated the effect of communicative stress on psychological health, and that 60.0% of this effect can be explained by mediating effects, in which emotional exhaustion and cynicism weighed 63.2% and 36.8%, respectively. Conclusions Communicative stress had effects on psychological distress among Chinese bus drivers, and job burnout was a mediator in this relationship.

Transtornos Mentais Comuns em Motoristas de Transporte Coletivo de Passageiros

“…5. Questionário de estressores ocupacionais: elaborado, para o presente estudo, com base na literatura sobre estressores em motoristas de transporte coletivo de passageiros (Lámbarry et al, 2016;Tse & Flin, 2006;Oliveira & Pinheiro, 2007;Silve & Zavarize, 2017;Tu et al, 2021;Zanelato & Oliveira, 2008). Este possui 12 itens, que avaliam: condições ambientais (alagamentos, enchentes); condições da estrada (buracos, falta de sinalizações); condições ergonômicas da cabine; relacionamento motorista-cobrador (conflitos); relacionamento com passageiros (reclamações); relacionamento com fiscais da empresa (pressões); escala de trabalho; pressão do tempo para cumprimento do trajeto; possibilidades de assalto e roubos; congestionamentos no trânsito; acidentes (medo de se envolver em um); motociclistas e cliclistas (que não seguem normas de trânsito).…”

Predictive effects of organizational justice on job satisfaction in bus drivers: the moderating effects of role overload and proactive personality

“…Satisfied drivers, such as bus drivers, are generally more willing to comply with work safety procedures, which can result in lower accident rates than dissatisfied drivers [ 2 ]. There were two deadly traffic accidents in China in 2018 and 2020, which were caused by drivers deliberately driving their buses into a river, both of which resulted in significant casualties [ 3 ]. Although it was difficult to determine the reasons for these intentional actions, Chinese transportation enterprise management is seeking to improve their employees’ job satisfaction [ 4 ].…”

“…Therefore, more evidence is needed to explore the relationship between procedural justice and job satisfaction, for example, in the group of bus drivers. Because bus drivers in China suffer from driver-passenger communicative stress [ 3 ], any lack of interaction fairness could seriously affect their job satisfaction.…”

Psychological contract breach and job performance of new generation of employees: Considering the mediating effect of job burnout and the moderating effect of past breach experience

“…Taking the perspective of the job demand-resource theory, Bakker and de Vries (2021) found that job burnout of high-tech workers could reduce their happiness and improve their turnover intention. And studies have explored the direct relationship between job burnout and job performance within a particular occupational group, such as teachers (Peng et al, 2019), nurses (Li et al, 2022), and drivers (Tu et al, 2021), and have failed to consider such issue among more broader groups, such as new generation of employees, and also ignored the antecedent effect of the implicit variable of psychological contract breach on employees' job burnout.…”