Investigating the relationship between job burnout and mental health of soil mechanics and technical laboratory employees in North Khorasan and Golestan provinces

Dissertation for M.A. public administration degree

Human resource orientation

Abstract

Job burnout is a psychological syndrome consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization (negative reaction and devoid of feelings towards clients) and reduced sense of sufficiency, which creates a negative attitude towards oneself, job and others and endangers the general health of a person. The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between job burnout and general health of soil mechanics and technical laboratory workers in Golestan and North Khorasan provinces. This study is a correlational descriptive study, the studied population was all the employees of the technical and soil mechanics laboratory of Golestan and North Khorasan province. The data collection tool included 2 standard questionnaires: a) Meslech Job Burnout Questionnaire (MBI). The questionnaire is based on a seven-point Likert scale and is scored on a scale of 0 to 6. b) General Health Test (GHQ-28) by Goldberg, 1972, which has 28 questions and examines the general health of the individual (under the subscales of physical health, anxiety, impairment in social functions, and depression), which is scored on a scale of 0 to 3. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to check the validity of the questionnaire, which was equal to 0.734 and 0.940 for the job burnout and mental health questionnaires, respectively. Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage) and inferential statistics (Spearman's correlation coefficient) were used for data analysis. The findings of the research showed that a significant correlation was observed between job burnout and its dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal inadequacy) with general health. Keywords: job burnout, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, sense of adequacy, general health. Chapter 1: Research overview 1-1) Introduction The way people work and its environment can always affect their mental health. to be effective and as a result it will promote or degrade their work. Life inevitably puts us in contact with stressful stimuli, and very low psychological pressure, which is called mild psychological pressure, can be as undesirable for us as very high psychological pressure, which is called very severe psychological pressure. Also, stress can make life challenging and exciting. When the demands of a situation match our abilities perfectly, we can experience a blissful state called task immersion. In this case, we have maximum efficiency and immerse ourselves in our work with pleasure. Most research shows that an optimistic attitude in the face of losses and failures boosts mental health, while pessimism has a negative effect on it. Our thoughts greatly affect our emotional and personal problems. Negative thoughts are common in negative mood and depression, and positive thoughts contribute to good and happy feelings. Experience shows that when we think about situations in happy, sad, and angry terms, the corresponding emotions often arise. In many studies, it has been found that the environment affects our psychological function (Androra, 2013).

1-2) Statement of the problem

Soil technical and mechanical laboratory in 1334 for the first time under the name of Jan and Mollem Consulting Engineers Company for research and study of Iran's soils in the construction of main roads under the title of soil science laboratory in the technical faculty of the University of Tehran, and after 2 years this laboratory started its activity under the supervision of the organization The program continued to work by Aman and Whitney [1] for another year and then started working directly under the supervision of the program organization with new responsibilities and job descriptions. In 1342, it was renamed as Technical Laboratory of Soil Science based on Resolution No. 4296 of the Board of Ministers. In 1350, this center was transferred to the Ministry of Roads and Transport under the name of Soil Mechanics and Technical Laboratory due to the high volume of construction projects, road construction and other projects related to the Ministry of Roads and Transport. Currently, it operates as a 100% state-owned company. The services of this laboratory include a wide range of activities such as study, design, calculation, monitoring and consulting in soil and rock mechanics, roads, airports, ports, railways, geotechnics and material resistance based on the standards of the country's management and planning organization..

One of the mission and vision statements of the Soil Technical and Mechanics Laboratory company is to reform and improve the organizational structure of the company's human and financial resources, as well as to improve productivity, improve quality and value chain, and since human resources are considered an integral, fundamental and strategic part of any organization, therefore, one of the problems caused by the work environment in the Soil Technical and Mechanics Laboratory companies is the issue of stress, which if felt by a person for a long time and widely, the symptoms are likely to take a definitive form. And it leads to the burnout stage.

Therefore, the common phenomenon of today's work environments is the subject of burnout and it is attributed to psychological pressure in work environments, which many measures are being implemented to prevent it. However, its connection with personality types is always mentioned and it is suggested that some special people are prone to experience burnout (Al Ibrahim, 1377).

Nowadays, due to the tremendous changes that burnout can leave on the quality of personal life, family and general and professional health, it has been considered as a serious issue (Gronhoek, 2000, quoted by Shabani Bahar, 2011). Considering the importance of the topic and the interest of the researcher and the lack of research with two existing variables (job burnout and mental health), this research aims to identify and determine the relationship between job burnout and the general health of employees of soil technical and mechanical laboratories in North Khorasan and Golestan provinces. And therefore, the main question of the research is whether there is a relationship between job burnout and the mental health of employees of technical and soil mechanics laboratories in North Khorasan and Golestan provinces? 1-3) Necessity and importance of the topic Since the most important resource of any organization is its human resources, sufficient attention should be paid to this fact, that in recent decades attention to mental health and its study has expanded greatly, so that by knowing the sources and underlying factors of mental health, they can train coping methods. Increase the effectiveness of people's activities in the organization and lay the foundation stone for greater health and well-being.

Regarding the necessity of research, it should be noted that the lack of mental health of the majority of employees or a significant group of them is undesirable for any social order and organizational performance, and its spread causes the individual's commitment to organizational values ??and goals to weaken and is the source of many other social anomalies. Since the consequences of the lack of mental health are very expensive for the organization and society, it seems necessary to examine the relationship between job burnout and mental health in organizations. Therefore, it can be accepted that burnout at work is considered a major public health problem (Meslech [2] et al., 2001), which can affect the general health of the individual. Factors affecting health include genetic and individual factors such as: age, gender, job and social class, environmental factors, people's lifestyles and the extent and quality of service provision. Thus, burnout is not only related to a person's mental health but also to his productivity, and through overcoming burnout, one can help improve mental health and increase the effectiveness and productivity of human resources (Nasti Zaei et al., 2017).

Because often The employees of every organization spend one third of their day and night in the work environment, work pressures can be one of the most important causes of job burnout in these people, and a person suffering from job burnout will certainly have problems in decision-making and planning, establishing relationships with others, the way work is carried out, and finally efficiency and productivity. Therefore, managing mental and emotional pressures and controlling this destructive phenomenon has a fundamental and influential contribution to the success process of any organization. Due to the fact that most of the research conducted in Iran in the field of job burnout has dealt with topics such as the prevalence of this phenomenon and its causes, and no research has been conducted on its relationship with the mental health of employees of the Soil Mechanics Technical Laboratory in North Khorasan and Golestan provinces. Therefore, considering the negative effects of job burnout on a person's performance in the form of reduced income and effectiveness at work, absenteeism, leaving the profession, family and marital problems, (alcohol and drug use), depression and even suicide, knowing this syndrome and the effective factors in its creation and finally preventing the occurrence of this syndrome is of particular importance.