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OCCUPATIONAL BURN-OUT AMONG FIRE OFFICERS

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An Undergraduate Manuscript Presented to the Faculty of

College of Criminal Justice Education

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In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement of the

Course Criminology Research 1 for the

Degree Bachelor of Science

in Criminology 
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Rabino, Adreian

Mamaluba, Agali

Mangco, Aida

Maangue, Althea Sheen

Escopalao, Archival

FEBRUARY 2022
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

The drastic transformation of the world, particularly in the workplace,

has caused growing concern for both employers and employees, as it is a

source of demand for them to become as versatile as possible and to be able

to perform the most varied and sometimes unknown tasks. Furthermore, this

trend has been associated with the progressive expansion of sources of

occupational stress and, in some cases, serious health problems, as a result

of increased work overload and reduced worker benefits over time (Turgoose

et al. 2017). According to recent systematic reviews, due to the current

characteristics of modern societies, being a police officer appears to be a

highly demanding and stressful occupation. These characteristics include: the

uncertainty and danger associated with the constant threat of terrorist attacks;

an increase in firearm violence in urban areas; an increased risk of arson;

team or supervision difficulties; criticism from citizens and society; and a lack

of understanding from family or friends (Cumming et al., 1965; Webster, 2013;

Magnavita et al., 2018; Purba and Demou, 2019).

Employees are constantly striving to meet objectives and experience

satisfaction in their work, which has become very characteristic of helping

professions, where workers deal directly with problematic people and are

exposed to chronic emotional stress in addition to excessive effort, both

physical and mental (Malik and Noreen 2015). Health, education, fire officers,
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and police forces are examples of professions with a higher risk and

vulnerability to burnout, particularly fire officers, who are considered by some

authors to be one of the most stressful and dangerous jobs in the world (Feijó

2019; Hartley et al. 2012; Malach-Pines and Keinan 2006).

Locally, there isn't much written on fire officer occupational burnout, so

many are uninformed of it. The purpose of this study is to determine the level

of occupational burnout among fire officers. It also wishes to assist individuals

in comprehending what those degrees imply. Most importantly, it seeks to

dispel myths, explain what they imply, and assist all helping professions,

particularly those in mental health, education, and law enforcement,

specifically the fire department. As a result, the researchers are committed to

complete this study.

Statement of the Problem

This study will determine the level of occupational burn-out among fire

officers in Kidapawan City. Specifically, this study sought to answer the

following questions.

1. What is the sociodemographic profile of fire officers in terms of;

1.1 Age

1.2 Sex?

2. What is the level of occupational of fire officers in terms of;

2.1 Occupational Exhaustion

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2.2 Depersonalization

2.3 Personal Accomplishments?

3. Is there a significant difference between the level of occupational

exhaustion when grouped according to its sociodemographic profile?

Significance of the Study

The researcher would intent to provide useful insights regarding the

experiences, quality of life, work productivity and the challenges faced by fire

officers in the workplace. The useful and relevant information acquired from

the study would benefit the following sectors:

To the Bureau of Fire Protection(BFP). This study will contribute

ideas in knowing the level of occupational burn-out among fire officers and its

importance to their field.

To the Fire Officers of Kidapawan City. This study will be beneficial

to their line of work because it will give them an insight about their level of

occupational burn-out. It will also help them craft programs that can be of

great use in making our law enforcement officers have an excellent work life.

To the Professors and Instructors. This study would help professors

and instructors in giving useful learning to their students especially in the

importance of improving the quality of life. Hence, they can put emphasis in

these areas of learning.

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To the Students. The result will provide students with useful and

reflective insights on the routine, experiences, challenges and quality of life of

fire officers.

To the Future Researchers. This could help future researchers to

conduct more studies not only in this particular field but also in other

organizations of the government covered by law enforcement and bureau of

fire.

Conceptual Framework

The Figure 1 shows the independent and dependent variable. The

independent variable sociodemographic profile with indicators namely age and

sex. On the other hand, the dependent variable is occupational burn-out with

indicators namely occupational exhaustion, depersonalization and personal

achievements

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Socio –demographic Occupational Burn-Out

Profile Occupational Exhaustion
Depersonalization
Personal Achievements
Age
Sex
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Fig 1. Conceptual Framework of the study: The independent and dependent

variables.
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Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored from Shannon Winnubst (1993) Structural

Theory.

According to Winnubst (1993), burnout is a response to continuous job

stress that arises when the individual's coping techniques for managing job

stressors fail. Work stress will first prompt a number of coping strategies.

When the initial coping techniques fail, it leads to professional failure and the

development of feelings of low personal fulfillment at work as well as

emotional tiredness. When confronted with these sensations, the subject

adopts depersonalization attitudes as a new coping strategy. Burnout has a

number of negative repercussions for both the individuals who suffer from it

and the organizations in which these professionals operate. These implications

are initially psychological in nature, but as time passes, they translate into

negative effects on workers' physical/biological health and behaviors, which

will have unfavorable organizational ramifications.

Review of Related Literature

The following literatures are readings from books, unpublished

materials and other research studies which are relevant to the study being

undertaken.

Occupational Burn-out
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This section provides related literature of occupational burn-out in terms

of occupational exhaustion, depersonalization and personal achievements.

Organizations face a severe problem with burnout. According to

research, the organizational consequences of burnout include weariness,

absenteeism, lower productivity, less effectiveness at work, decreased

commitment to the job, turnover intentions, and actual turnover (Maslach,

2003). Burnout can cause worry, sadness, low self-esteem, substance

addiction, and increased health problems in people. Burnout is also perceived

as spreading in the workplace and has a negative impact on people's personal

lives (Maslach, 2003; Maslach et al., 2001). In short, burnout is a significant

component of occupational stress.

Burnout is a significant component of occupational stress. Due to

increased workplace demands and a shortage of workers in the helping

professions, the research on burnout began in the helping professions such as

healthcare, law enforcement, and others (Maslach et al., 2001). People in the

caring professions experience a loss of idealism as well as tremendous

exhaustion. These difficulties inspired a field study, which resulted in the

Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) (Maslach &

Jackson, 1981), which assesses burnout in the human service professions. A

complete stress theory is required for a better understanding of burnout.

Occupational Exhaustion
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Occupational exhaustion refers to the depletion of the energy structure

(Bakker, & Lloret, 2016). Rather than a lack of physical energy, it is a loss of

emotional vigor. People are not physically exhausted from physically hard

activities like manual labor; rather, they are emotionally exhausted due to a

lack of resources to manage expectations and fears. This lack of energy,

regarded as a further loss of resources, will lead to maladaptive coping

strategies such as depersonalization.

Depersonalization

At first, the second step in the burnout process was depersonalization

(Maslach et al., 2001). Depersonalization is a way to distance yourself from

your job and clients by ignoring what makes each client special and

interesting. Depersonalization can lead to dehumanization, which is when

people are treated like things. Depersonalization is a way to deal with

problems because it takes people away from their jobs and clients. People

who work in human services must care about the people they help, or at least

show the right emotions (Brotheridge & Lee, 2002; Henderson, 2001; lively,

2002).

Human services employees who depersonalize at work are seeking to

minimize negative emotions, lessen emotional tiredness, and reclaim

resources, resulting in increased vitality. Non-human service professions have

replaced depersonalization with cynicism (Leiter & Schaufeli, 1996). The

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effects of cynicism extend beyond coworker relationships (Maslach et al.,

2001). Negativity and selfishness or callousness are examples of cynicism.

Individuals, organizations, and circumstances are all susceptible to pessimism.

An example of cynicism about people is the belief that everyone at work is

deceiving you or is out to get you.

Labor-related cynicism manifests as the belief that work lacks

significance. Situational cynicism emerges as workplace cynicism rather than

cynical about the employment itself, such as the belief that other hospitals are

superior to the one where one works. Depersonalization is a form of cynicism

in which people act indifferently toward others and treat them as objects. In

addition, they view their profession as unimportant or unworthy of their best

efforts. Cynicism and depersonalization are two instances of distance coping.

Distancing is a coping strategy that allows people to create a mental

separation from unpleasant situations (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2004).

Distancing is utilized as a coping method for emotional weariness and

to remove the individual from their work in order to prevent additional

emotional exhaustion (Maslach, 2003; Maslach & Goldberg, 1998; Maslach et

al., 2001). People attempt to cope with their emotional tiredness by isolating

themselves emotionally. They have the propensity to become emotionally

distant, as well as harsh and gloomy (Maslach et al., 2001). Generally,

distancing is unhelpful as a coping method (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).

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People having little or no influence over their circumstances, such as hospice

patients, may withdraw because they have no other option. Distancing is

maladaptive when people have control over the issue because they may not

engage in problem-focused coping, leading in stressor elimination (Lazarus &

Folkman, 1984).

Personal Accomplishments

The third step in the burnout process is reaching your own goals (Leiter

& Maslach, 1988). People who are burned out feel less good about

themselves. For example, they might think they can't do a good job at work.

The better one’s capability to accomplish goal the less likely they encounter

burn-out.The drop in performance that seems to be happening in human

service jobs is due to emotional burnout and depersonalization (Maslach et al.,

2001). Even though it's part of the job to care for and help other people,

people who depersonalize will think they're not doing enough. When a person

doesn't think they are good at their job, it hurts their personal success

(Maslach & Leiter, 1997).

In the human-service and customer-service fields, like nursing and

customer service, this feeling of being less useful is common. People who

work in human services or customer service may feel like they shouldn't feel

emotionally exhausted and cynical, which is a sign of burnout. Because there

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aren't enough resources, this process starts a downward spiral that leads to

more burnout and, eventually, turnover (Hobfoll, 1989; Hobfoll et al., 1990).

Occupational Burn-Out and Sociodemographic

This section provides related literature of occupational burn –out among

fire officers when grouped according their demographic profile.

Occupational Burn-Out and Age

Health workers, police officers, and teachers, according to Schaufeli et

al. (2016) are at a significant risk of burnout. Increased care requirements are

related with a higher risk of burnout if their interaction with patients or clients

stays constant and intense. In a study conducted at a regional hospital in

Taiwan, Chou et al. discovered that nurses had the highest prevalence of

work-related stress (66%), followed by medical assistants (61.8%), doctors

(38.6%), administrative staff (36.1%), and medical technicians (31.9%).

The relationship between age and burnout is rarely investigated in

research. Akkuş et al. (2011) investigated the relationship between age and

burnout and discovered a drop in the scores of the three burnout domains with

increasing age. Gómez-Urquiza et al. discovered in a meta-analysis that the

age of young people was a significant factor in the emotional tiredness and

depersonalization domains of burnout.

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Ahola et al. (2015) discovered that women with burnout had a U-

shaped distribution in a study that examined a sample of the adult working

population in Finland. Age and burnout were found to have a negative

relationship in the first years of employment (ages 18-40 years) and around

the age of 60-64 years. Burnout was shown to be more prevalent in young

women than in older professionals.

Occupational Burnout and sex

Marchand et al. (2018) obtained data from a sample of 2073 Canadian

workers (response rate: 73%) for their study. Age had a non-linear association

with emotional weariness and total burnout, but a linear link with cynicism and

decreased professional efficacy. In men, burnout level decreased with

increasing age, but in women, the association was bimodal, with women aged

20 to 35 and over 55 displaying the highest burnout level. These findings imply

that burnout symptoms differed considerably between working men and

women at different times of their lives. Younger men and women aged 20 to

35, as well as those aged 55 and older, are especially vulnerable and should

be targeted for burnout prevention initiatives.

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