Burnout, Organizational Justice, Workload, and Emotional Regulation among Medical and Non-Medical Personnel Working in Romanian Healthcare Units

Abstract

Background and objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate the levels of organizational justice, emotional regulation, and workload associated with the level of burnout experienced in medical and non-medical staff from public and private medical units. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 230 healthcare professionals, including 139 medical personnel and 91 non-medical staff respondents. The collected socio-demographic and organizational data and psychological tools were the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI HSS), the ECO System, and the emotional regulation questionnaire (ERQ). Results: For medical staff, burnout was measured in terms of emotional exhaustion (M = 27.05 ± 12.34), depersonalization (M = 8.26 ± 3.95), and personal accomplishment (M = 47.35 ± 6.78). The scores for non-medical staff were emotional exhaustion (M = 35.84 ± 14.71), depersonalization (M = 11.79 ± 6.30), and personal accomplishment (M = 44 ± 7.37). In terms of workload, higher scores were observed for non-medical staff (M = 25.43 ± 7.87), while medical staff recorded lower values (M = 20.35 ± 7.65). The scores for the cognitive reappraisal dimension were as follows: medical personnel (M = 32.02 ± 5.37) and non-medical staff (M = 31.67 ± 6.19). In terms of the expressive suppression dimension, medical staff registered at M = 17.99 ± 5.61, and non-medical staff registered at M = 17.19 ± 5.53. For organizational justice, higher scores were registered for medical staff (M = 25.87 ± 6.02) and lower scores for non-medical staff (M = 21.34 ± 5.72). Conclusions: Medical staff felt a higher sense of organizational justice than non-medical staff, as is also evidenced by the level of the workload dimension, which registers higher values for non-medical personnel. In the case of burnout, higher levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions were also revealed for non-medical staff and, in the case of the professional fulfillment dimension, higher scores were registered for medical staff.