Relationship of Emotional Labor, Social Support and Self-esteem to Burnout in Dental Hygienists

Abstract

This study was to examine the relationship of emotional labor, social support and self-esteem to burnout in dental hygienists. The subjects of the present study were dental hygienists working in private dental clinic and dental department in hospitals located in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. Data were collected using structured and self-reported questionnaires. The obtained data were analyzed with IBM SPSS version 19.0.

In the bivariate analysis using Pearson's correlation, social support and self-esteem were positively correlated with burnout, and emotional labor was negatively correlated with burnout. With a multiple regression analysis, emotional labor, social support, and self-esteem were the significant predictors of burnout. Self-esteem was the most contributing predictor accounted for variance in burnout.

Based on this results, it is recommended to develop a management program, which can enhance self-esteem, social support and decrease emotional labor, to prevent burnout from dental hygienists.