The Relationship Between Job Burnout and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Firefighters: Colleagueship as a Moderator.

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the association between job burnout and depressive symptoms among Chinese firefighters, assuming colleagueship to play a moderating role in the aforementioned relationship. This study is based on an online survey recruiting 1328 Chinese male firefighters from July 1 to August 31, 2021. Multiple linear regressions were used to examine the associations. This study revealed that all dimensions of job burnout were associated with worse depressive symptoms. Cynicism (β = 0.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.236, 0.356) had the strongest association with depressive symptoms, followed by emotional exhaustion and inefficacy. Moreover, firefighters with better affective colleagueship (β = -0.10; 95% CI, -0.141, -0.061) and better obligatory colleagueship (β = -0.07; 95% CI, -0.115, -0.034) were less likely to have depressive symptoms when confronted with job burnouts. This study suggests employers and practitioners should target their intervention efforts at both job burnout and colleagueship.