The helping professionals' subjective well-being during the first wave of COVID-19: A cross-sectional study of vital exhaustion

Abstract

Theoretical background: In a critical situations such as COVID-19, priority should be given to the psychological support of helping professionals regarding the sustainability of services and prevention of burnout. It's exceptionally important to measure the vital exhaustion that might be a reason of burnout. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate helping professionals' vital exhaustion in relation to different groups of background variables during the first period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Helping professionals from health and social care, education, and the field of religion (n = 931) were contacted with an online questionnaire in Hungary in the spring of 2020. After calculating descriptive statistics of vital exhauson, we examined the sociodemographic, physical (related to health behavior), professional and personal background variables. Results: Health and social care workers were more exhausted than members of other helping professions (F(1, 929) = 16.801, p < 0.001). In the development of vital exhaustion, we could attribute a greater predictive effect to the following variables: change in the quality of sleep (β = 0.292, p < 0.01), change in family-work balance (β =-0.238, p < 0.01), and subjective health (β =-0.201, p < 0.01). We could attribute a moderate correlation between changes in the frequency of meals and changes in sleep quality (χ2(4, n = 931) = 144.8, p < 0.001), and changes in family-work balance and changes in sleep quality (χ2(12, n = 788) = 171.4, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Proper quality and quantity of sleep, regular meals, and physical activity not only have preventive significance but they also have a stabilizing effect in acute crises. Work conditions and communication at work can have a major influence on wellbeing. Therefore beyond the individual factors employers also play an important role to maintain their employees' wellbeing.