Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to investigate the levels and correlations of burnout, emotional labor, and resilience among care workers working in long-term care hospitals, and the moderating effects of resilience on the relationship between emotional labor and burnout.
Methods
The subjects were 126 care workers from five different long-term care hospitals in South Korea. A set of self-reported questionnaires was administered to assess general characteristics, emotional labor, resilience, and burnout of the subjects. Collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hierarchical multiple regression.
Results
126 subjects with a mean (±SD) age of 59.23 (±5.46) years were included in the final analyses. The level of burnout showed a significant difference in number of older patients (F=4.76, p=.010), health status (t=3.17, p=.002), and working motivation (F=4.59, p=.004). The final multivariate regression model was statistically significant and accounted for 36% of the variance in burnout (F=4.68, p=.033). Health status (β=-.34, p<.001), family livelihood of working motivations (β=.27, p=.006), emotional labor (β=.25, p=.001), and resilience (β=-.22, p=.004) were significant factors affecting burnout. Resilience had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between emotional labor and burnout (β=-.16, p=.033).
Conclusion
In order to alleviate burnout in care workers, emotional labor should be recognized as a significant mental health problem and comprehensive management interventions for their health maintenance and promotion should be prepared. A systemic organizational approach of long-term care facilities to provide various strategies including effective education, training, and mentoring is needed to enhance resilience of care workers.