Different Coping Strategies, Hardiness and the Role of Supervisor and Coworker Support to Manage Emergency Stress and Burnout in Professional and Volunteer Emergency Workers during Covid-19 Pandemic

Giostra V, Maiorano T, Pajardi D and Vagni M

Published on: 2025-05-27

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic represented one of the most difficult unexpected international crises to manage in recent times, involving emergency workers and volunteers, subjected to exhausting shifts, who had to face an emergency never managed before. Emergency workers and volunteers who intervene to manage crises, disasters and emergency situations are at risk of developing burnout and emergency stress. Coping strategies and resilience are among the protective factors for stress and burnout. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between emergency stress, burnout, coping strategies and resilience in professional and volunteers emergency workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and also with other external protective factors such as support from supervisors and colleagues. The Emergency Stress Questionnaire, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale – Short Form, the Hardiness Resilience Gauge and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were administered to an Italian sample of 332 professional emergency workers and 316 emergency volunteers. The results showed that professional emergency workers had a significantly higher level of emergency stress, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and used more emotional coping strategies, while volunteers showed higher levels of hardiness and coping strategies than the other group. Hardiness emerged as an internal protective factor against emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, as well as the coping strategy Stop Negative Thoughts and Emotions. Self-efficacy coping strategies showed a significant protective effect on burnout risks, unlike task, emotion and avoidance scales. Supervisor support emerged as an external protective factor against burnout, while coworkers support influenced personal accomplishment. Both professional and volunteer rescuers can develop stress and burnout and it is necessary to provide preventive training that aims to increase awareness of risks and specific and effective coping strategies and also to promote more external protective factors that can increase trust in the supervisor and colleagues.