Suporte social no trabalho e autoeficácia como preditores da qualidade de vida profissional em bombeiros militares

Abstract

Work as a helper involves as many positive factors (Compassion Satisfaction) as it does negatives (Compassion Fatigue). A Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) is a result of the balance between such aspects, it reflects the internal wellbeing of an individual as a result of the nature of the profession (supporting people or animals which are suffering). The following study aims to evaluate the extent of the impact which Social Support at the Workplace and the Deterioration of Self-Efficacy has on the Professional Quality of Life of firefighters. The tools used include: Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL-IV), Scale of Perception of Social Support at the Workplace (SPSSW), Deterioration of Self-Efficacy factor from the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), a Sociodemographic Record and an Interview Script. The data from que standardized questionnaires was applied to the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software, the data was categories as either descriptive, varying or regressive. In order to analyses the interview, the content analysis technique was applied. The results identified four groups which matched the following ProQOL profiles: Apathetic, Stable, Moderate and Deficient. The Compassion Satisfaction (CS) score remained similar amongst groups, however, the Burnout scores of two groups (Moderate and Deficient) were significantly higher, affecting 43,5% of relevant samples. When looking at the regression analysis, the Deterioration of Self-Efficacy factor stood out as the most relevant predictor of Burnout, being capable of explaining up to 23% of the variation between groups. Information Support stood out as the second most relevant predictor of Burnout. During the interview analysis, two aspects of workplace life were identified as positive (Acknowledgement of profession/work; Psychological reward) alongside a negative factor (The relationship between work and fatigue). These factors respectively corroborate the results of CS and Burnout found from the sample. It was found that, regardless of Burnout levels, firefighters do not present signs of Compassion Fatigue as CS remained high amongst all groups, this leads to the conclusion that the sample’s ProQOL remains high, being sustained by their sense of competence, pride in their profession and willingness to help. It is important that the responsible corporations set out targets to combat high levels of Burnout and to maintain CS amongst firefighters at a high level. This can be done by investing in training which aims to increase workplace self-efficacy, to improve the interpersonal relationships and to improve accuracy of information. All these factors were found to be favorable to the ProQOL levels of firefighters.