EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS, BURNOUT LEVELS, AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AMONG MEDICAL AND NON-MEDICAL PERSONNEL IN ROMANIAN MEDICAL UNITS

Emotional intelligence implies the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and express emotions effectively, both in oneself and in others. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive stress, particularly related to one's job or work environment. Psychosocial risks at work refer to factors in the work environment that can influence employees' psychological and social well-being. The objective of this study was to investigate the differences between medical and non-medical personnel regarding burnout, emotional intelligence, and perceived psychosocial risks at work in healthcare facilities in Romania. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in February-March 2023 on a sample of 500 healthcare specialists, including 217 nurses, 98 physicians, and 55 respondents with other medical specialities (e.g., psychologists, biologists, pharmacists, physiotherapists etc.), along with 130 non-medical personnel from public and private healthcare units in Romania. Data was collected using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI HSS), UNIPSICO Battery, Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24), and Eco System. Results: For medical personnel, burnout scores were as follows: emotional exhaustion (M = 19.73 +/- 13.68), depersonalization (M = 4.44 +/- 4.99), and personal accomplishment (M = 38.67 +/- 7.45). Non-medical personnel showed higher values in emotional exhaustion (M = 27.33 +/- 14.16), depersonalization (M = 6.59 +/- 5.99), but lower scores in personal accomplishment (M = 35.87 +/- 7.92). Organizational justice scores were lower for non-medical personnel (M = 21.63 +/- 5.61) compared to medical personnel (M = 25.87 +/- 5.86). Regarding protective factors against burnout, in terms of emotional intelligence, emotional attention had values of (M = 30.30 +/- 5.87) for medical personnel and (M = 31.63 +/- 5.05) for non-medical personnel. For emotional clarity, medical personnel scored (M = 31.34 +/- 4.96) and non-medical personnel scored (M = 31.93 +/- 4.59), while for emotional repair, medical personnel scored (M = 29.97 +/- 4.28) and non-medical personnel scored (M = 29.68 +/- 4.30). Role conflict showed higher scores for non-medical personnel (M = 9.61 +/- 4.34) compared to medical personnel (M = 7.25 +/- 4.27). Role clarity scores were higher for medical personnel (M = 16.25 +/- 3.61) and lower for non-medical personnel (M = 16.06 +/- 3.51). Workload scores were higher for non-medical personnel (M = 24.19 +/- 8.02) and lower for medical personnel (M = 21.97 +/- 7.90). Conclusions: Medical personnel experiences a higher sense of organizational justice and personal accomplishment compared to the non-medical staff. In the case of the negative dimensions of burnout, higher levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization have been recorded among non-medical personnel. Additionally, for emotional attention dimension, higher scores have been registered among the non-medical staff. Regarding other psychosocial risks, role conflict has recorded higher values among administrative personnel, as well as workload.