The objective of this study was to assess the relationships between occupational stress, sense of coherence, burnout and work engagement of emergency workers in Gauteng and to determine whether sense of coherence moderates the effects of occupational stress on burnout and work engagement. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A convenience sample (N = 323) was taken from emergency workers in Gauteng. The Maslach Burnout Inventory — Human Services Survey, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Emergency Worker Stress Inventory and the Orientation to Life Questionnaire were administered. The results showed that occupational stress (as a result of a lack of job resources) and a weak sense of coherence predicted emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Sense of coherence predicted personal accomplishment and work engagement. However, sense of coherence did not moderate the effects of occupational stress on emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, personal accomplishment or work engagement.
AikenL. S.WestS. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions.Thousand Oaks: Sage.
2.
AmirkhanJ. H.GreavesH. (2003). Sense of coherence and stress: The mechanics of a healthy disposition. Psychology and Health, 18(1), 31–62.
3.
AntonovskyA. (1987). Unraveling the mystery of health: How people manage stress and stay well.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
4.
AntonovskyA. (1993). The structure and properties of the sense of coherence scale. Social Science and Medicine, 36, 725–733.
5.
ÅstromS.NilssonM.NorbergA.SandmanP.O.WinbladA. (1990). Staff burnout in dementia care: Relations to empathy and attitudes. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 28, 65–77.
6.
BaronR. M.KennyD. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.
7.
BassonM. J.RothmannS. (2002). Sense of coherence, coping and burnout of pharmacists. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 5(1), 35–62.
8.
BeatonR. D.MurphyS. A.PikeK. C.CornellW. (1997). Social support and network conflict in fire-fighters and paramedics. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 19, 297–313.
9.
BeehrT. (2000). An organization psychology meta-model of occupational stress. In CooperC. L. (Ed.), Theories of organizational stress (pp. 6–27). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
10.
BolgerN.ZuckermanA. (1995). A framework for studying personality in the stress process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 890–902.
11.
BoumanA. H.Te BrakeH.HoogstratenJ. (2002). Significant effects due to rephrasing the Maslach Burnout Inventory's personal accomplishment items. Psychological Reports, 91, 825–826.
12.
CooperC. L. (2000). Theories of organizational stress.Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
13.
CooperC. L.DeweP. J.O'DriscollM. P. (2001). Organizational stress: A review and critique of theory, research and applications.Thousand Oaks: Sage.
14.
CordesC. L.DoughertyT. W. (1993). A review and an integration of research on job burnout. Academy of Management Review, 18, 621–656.
15.
DekkerS. W. A.SchaufeliW. B. (1995). The effects of job insecurity on psychological health and withdrawal: A longitudinal study. Australian Psychologist, 30, 57–63.
16.
FeldtT. (1997). The role of sense of coherence in well-being at work: Analysis of main and moderator effects. Work and Stress, 11, 134–147.
17.
FrankJ. R.OvensH. (2002). Shift work and emergency medical practice. The Journal of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, 4, 421–428.
18.
FrenzA. W.CareyM. P.JorgensenR. S. (1993). Psychometric evaluation of Antonovsky's sense of coherence scale. Psychological Assessment, 5, 145–153.
19.
FriedmanI. A. (1991). High- and low-burnout schools: Schools culture aspects of teacher burnout. Journal of Educational Research, 84, 325–333.
20.
GilbarO. (1998). Relationship between burnout and sense of coherence in health social workers. Social Work in Health Care, 26(3), 39–49.
21.
HobfollS. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50, 337–369.
22.
JacksonS. E.TurnerJ. A.BriefA. P. (1987). Correlates of burnout among public service lawyers. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 8, 339–349.
23.
KalimoR.VuoriJ. (1990). Work and sense of coherence: Resources for competence and life satisfaction. Behavioural Medicine, 16, 76–89.
24.
KandolinI. (1993). Burnout of female and male nurses in shift work. Ergonomics, 36, 141–147.
25.
KowalskiK. M.VaughtC. (2001). The safety and health of emergency workers. Journal of Contingencies & Crisis Management, 9(3), 138–143.
26.
LandsbergisP. A. (1988). Occupational stress among health care workers: A test of the Job-Demands-Control model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 9, 217–239.
27.
LazarusR. S. (1991). Psychological stress and the coping process.New York: McGraw-Hill.
28.
LeeR. T.AshforthB. E. (1996). A meta-analytic examination of the correlates of the three dimensions of job burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 123–133.
29.
LeiterM. P. (1989). Conceptual implications of two models of burnout: A response to Golembiewski. Group and Organizational Studies, 14, 15–22.
30.
LeiterM. P.MaslachC. (1988). The impact of interpersonal environment of burnout and organizational commitment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 9, 297–308.
31.
LevertT.LucasM.OrtleppK. (2000). Burnout in psychiatric nurses: Contributions of the work environment and a sense of coherence. South African Journal of Psychology, 30, 36–43.
32.
MaslachC. (1998). A multidimensional view of burnout. In CooperC. L. (Ed.), Theories of organizational stress (pp. 68–85). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
MaslachC.SchaufeliW. B.LeiterM. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397–422.
35.
MoranC.BrittonN. R. (1994). Emergency work experience and reactions to traumatic incidents. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 7, 575–585.
36.
NaudéJ. L. P.RothmannS. (2003). Occupational stress of emergency workers in Gauteng. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 29(4), 92–100.
37.
NaudéJ. L. P.RothmannS. (2004a). The validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey for emergency health technicians in Gauteng. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 30(3), 21–28.
38.
NaudéJ. L. P.RothmannS. (2004b). The validation of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for emergency health technicians in Gauteng. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 7, 473–487.
39.
NelsonD. L.SimmonsB. L. (2003). Health psychology and work stress: A more positive approach. In QuickJ. C.TetrickL. E. (Eds.), Handbook of occupational health psychology (pp. 97–119). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
40.
NunnallyJ. C.BernsteinI. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
41.
RothmannS. (2000, July). Sense of coherence, locus of control and job satisfaction. Paper presented at the 27th International Congress of Psychology, Stockholm, Sweden.
42.
RothmannS. (2003). Burnout and engagement: A South African perspective. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 29(4), 16–25.
43.
RothmannS.MalanA. M.RothmannJ. C. (2001, August). Sense of coherence, coping and burnout in a corporate pharmacy group. Paper presented at the 7th Annual PSYSSA Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa.
44.
RothmannS.SteynL. J.MostertK. (2005). Job stress, sense of coherence and work wellness in an electricity supply organisation. South African Journal of Business Management, 36(1), 1–9.
45.
SaloveyP.RothmanA. J.DetweilerJ. B.StewartW. T. (2000). Emotional states and physical health. American Psychologist, 55, 110–121.
46.
SchaufeliW. B. (2003). Past performance and future perspectives of burnout research. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 29(4), 1–15.
47.
SchaufeliW. B.BakkerA. B. (2001). Werk en welbevinden: Naar een positieve benadering in de Arbeids- en Gezondheidspsychologie [In Dutch: Work and well-being: Towards a positive occupational health psychology]. Gedrag en Organizatie, 14, 229–253.
48.
SchaufeliW. B.BakkerA. B. (2004). Job demands, job resources and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A multi-sample study. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 25, 1–23.
49.
SchaufeliW. B.EnzmannD. (1998). The burnout companion to study and practice: A critical analysis.London: Taylor & Francis.
50.
SchaufeliW. B.SalanovaM.González-RomáV.BakkerA. B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A confirmative analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 71–92.
51.
SeligmanM. E. P.CsikszentmihalyiM. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14.
52.
ShiromA. (1989). Burnout in work organizations. In CooperC. L.RobertsonI. T. (Eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology 1989 (pp. 25–48). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
53.
SmithE. (2003, April 6). Hospitale nou oorloggebiede [In Afrikaans: Hospitals now war zones], Gauteng Rapport, p. A1.
54.
SparriusS. K. (1992). Occupational stressors among ambulance and rescue service workers. South African Journal of Psychology, 22, 87–91.
55.
SpielbergerC. D.VaggP. R.WasalaC. F. (2003). Occupational stress: Job pressures and lack of support. In QuickJ.CTetrickL. E. (Eds.), Handbook of occupational health psychology (pp. 185–200). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
56.
SPSS Inc. (2003). SPSS 12.0 for Windows.Chicago, IL: Author.
57.
VettorS. M.KosinskiF. A. (2000). Work-stress and burnout in emergency medical technicians and the use of early recollections. Journal of Employment Counseling, 37, 216–228.
58.
WissingM. P.de WaalM.de BeerI. (1992, July). Sense of coherence and stress symptomatology. Paper presented at 25th International Congress of Psychology, Brussels, Belgium.
59.
YoungK. M.CooperC. L. (1995). Occupational stress in the ambulance service: A diagnostic study. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 10(3), 29–36.
