Job Demands and Exhaustion in Firefighters: The Moderating Role of Work Meaning. A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Emotional exhaustion and other symptoms of burnout are often found among emergency services professions, such as firefighting. Given the social importance of this activity and the high responsibility it requires, prevention and alleviation of burnout symptoms become primary concerns in ensuring the well-being of firefighters. Although work meaning is one of the factors associated with a lower risk of developing burnout, its protective role has not been studied in firefighters. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the buffering role of work meaning in the health-impairment process of the Job Demands-Resources model, targeting the relationship between job demands and related emotional exhaustion. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from a sample consisting of Romanian firefighters (n = 1096). Structural equation modeling indicated a positive link between job demands and exhaustion. In addition, deriving personal meaning from work was associated with lower levels of exhaustion in firefighters. A small but significant interaction effect between work meaning and job demands showed that higher levels of work meaning attenuated the positive relationship between job demands and exhaustion. In conclusion, our findings suggest that work meaning has a buffering effect on the impact of various job demands on job-related exhaustion. Nevertheless, the small effect sizes warrant further research on this topic.

Individual Workplace Well-Being Captured into a Literature- and Stakeholders-Based Causal Loop Diagram

“…Although empirical research on dynamic interaction mechanisms of well-being is growing [ 22 , 23 , 24 ], as Sonnentag [ 1 ] (p. 285) argues in 2015: “[…] the underlying processes are probably even more complex than uncovered in past research ”. Intervening without a full understanding of individual workplace well-being may result in reduced effectiveness or may even worsen the situation for the individual (see also [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]). For instance, individual coaching aimed at improving employee work-life balance may fail to be effective if a structural imbalance between job demands and job resources prevails, or reducing workload by eliminating tasks that actually provide meaning to one’s work may result in reduced well-being.…”

Protective Factors against Morally Injurious Memories from the COVID-19 Pandemic on Nurses’ Occupational Wellbeing: A Cross-Sectional Experimental Study

“…Given our reflective–formative constructs, average sample size, and non-normally distributed data for our endogenous constructs (work engagement: W = 0.99, p < 0.001; burnout: W = 0.98, p < 0.001; turnover intentions: W = 0.99, p < 0.001; autonomy: W = 0.97, p < 0.001; competence: W = 0.96, p < 0.001; relatedness: W = 0.98, p < 0.001), we assessed our model with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), according to the recommendations of Becker et al [ 76 ], Ringle et al [ 77 , 78 ] and Hair et al [ 79 , 80 , 81 ], and in line with previous research [ 73 , 74 , 75 ]. The minimum sample size needed for PLS-SEM does not depend on how complex the model is, but rather on the probability that the ratio of a path coefficient and its standard error is higher compared to the critical value of a test statistic for a given significance level [ 82 ].…”

“…By the same logic, if the second-order constructs were reflective–reflective, their dimensions could be removed or changed. However, this is not the case, because second-order constructs such as burnout and work engagement are formed by their dimensions; in line with previous research, we treated them as type II second-order reflective–formative constructs [ 73 , 74 , 75 ].…”

Helping others not always helps ourselves: the relationship between victim incivility and emergency workers' burnout through work-to-family conflict

“…, 2017). Thus, understanding how to alleviate emergency workers' burnout is of the utmost importance for emergency service managers and the whole society to allow these workers to intervene effectively in emergencies and assume the high responsibilities that this requires (Roșca et al. , 2021).…”

“…Although emotional exhaustion is considered the core dimension of burnout, the cynicism component is probably the most distinguishing facet of this stress response IJWHM 15,4 (Montgomery and Maslach, 2019) due to its effects on quality patient care and safety (Loerbroks et al, 2017). Thus, understanding how to alleviate emergency workers' burnout is of the utmost importance for emergency service managers and the whole society to allow these workers to intervene effectively in emergencies and assume the high responsibilities that this requires (Roșca et al, 2021). This is an issue of collective interest, given the relevance of this understudied professional group in managing a range of critical emergencies and then safeguarding societal health (Sandrin et al, 2020).…”