How Organizational Change Impacts Burnout for First-Responders and Emergency Healthcare Workers: Firefighters as a Case Study.

Mazzetti, AS; Grønstad, A; Blenkinsopp, J

doi:10.4018/979-8-3373-0169-3

How Organizational Change Impacts Burnout for First-Responders and Emergency Healthcare Workers: Firefighters as a Case Study.

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Angela Mazzetti ORCiD, Dr John Blenkinsopp

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Abstract

First-responder and emergency healthcare workers face a higher risk of burnout than most occupations. Drawing upon the effort-reward imbalance model we examine how the growing effort required from them is increasingly met with diminishing reward. As a result, there are global shortages of workers in these occupations and the workers who remain are at greater risk of burnout. These front-line workers deal with significant occupational stressors but using the challenge-hindrance model of workplace stress we highlight the potentially greater significance for burnout of organizational stressors i.e. stressors created less by the work itself and more by the organization. Using a case study of firefighters in the UK we show how organizational change can increase both stress levels and the risk of burnout.