In e na ional Jou nal o
En i onmen al Resea ch
and Public Heal h
A icle
Value Con lic , Lack o Rewa ds, and Sense o Communi y
as Psychosocial Risk Fac o s o Bu nou in Communica ion
P o essionals (P ess, Radio, and Tele ision)
San iago Gascón1, Rica do Fueyo-Díaz 1, Luis Bo ao 1, Michael P. Lei e 2,Ál a o Fanlo-Za azaga 3,4,
Bá ba a Oli án-Blázquez 1,4,* and Alejand a Aguila -La o e 4


Ci a ion: Gascón, S.; Fueyo-Díaz, R.;
Bo ao, L.; Lei e , M.P.;
Fanlo-Za azaga, Á.; Oli án-Blázquez,
B.; Aguila -La o e, A. Value Con lic ,
Lack o Rewa ds, and Sense o
Communi y as Psychosocial Risk
Fac o s o Bu nou in Communica ion
P o essionals (P ess, Radio, and
Tele ision). In . J. En i on. Res. Public
Heal h 2021,18, 365. h ps://doi.o g/
10.3390/ije ph18020365
Recei ed: 1 Decembe 2020
Accep ed: 30 Decembe 2020
Published: 6 Janua y 2021
Publishe ’s No e: MDPI s ays neu-
al wi h ega d o ju isdic ional clai-
ms in published maps and ins i u io-
nal a ilia ions.
Copy igh : © 2021 by he au ho s. Li-
censee MDPI, Basel, Swi ze land.
This a icle is an open access a icle
dis ibu ed unde he e ms and con-
di ions o he C ea i e Commons A -
ibu ion (CC BY) license (h ps://
c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/
4.0/).
1Depa men o Psychology and Sociology, Uni e si y o Za agoza, 50009 Za agoza, Spain;
sgascon@uniza .es (S.G.); ueyo@uniza .es (R.F.-D.); lbo ao@uniza .es (L.B.)
2Depa men o Psychology, Acadia Uni e si y, Wol ille, NS B4P 2R6, Canada; [email p o ec ed]
3Heal h Science Ins i u e A agón (IACS), 50009 Za agoza, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
4Ins i u e o Heal h Resea ch A agón (IIS A agón), 50009 Za agoza, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
*Co espondence: boli an@uniza .es
Abs ac :
Jou nalis s a e a pa icula isk o wo k- ela ed s ess and bu nou . The objec i e o
his s udy is o desc ibe and analyze he p incipal ac o s in ol ed in he appea ance o bu nou
in communica ion p o essionals, as well as he possible in e ac ions be ween hem and wi h sel -
epo ed heal h, and o obse e whe he he a iables in ol ed a e he same in di e en ypes o
en i onmen s. To achie e his objec i e, 292 pa icipan s answe ed he ollowing measu emen
ins umen s: Demog aphic and labo da ashee ; Maslach Bu nou In en o y (MBI Gene al su ey);
A eas o Wo kli e Scale (AWS); and Gene al Heal h Ques ionnai e (GHQ -12). The esul s we e he
ollowing: Emo ional Exhaus ion (EE) shows di ec co ela ion and s a is ical signi icance wi h he
o he wo bu nou dimensions, Depe sonaliza ion (DP) and Pe sonal Accomplishmen (PA), also
wi h heal h pe cep ion a iables and in e se and s a is ical signi icance wi h he wo kload, con ol,
ewa ds, communi y, ai ness, and alues. A mul iple linea eg ession model shows wo kload and
alues as in e se EE p edic o s, which con i ms a bu nou p ocess in which EE con ibu es as he
main dimension in DP and is shown o be a p ecu so o PA, i sel . When compa ing di e en ypes
o media, jou nalis s who wo k in ins i u ional p ess o ices p esen ed signi ican ly lowe sco es in
PA and highe in con ol, ewa ds, communi y, jus ice, and alues. The e o e, u he esea ch should
be ca ied ou in o de o analyze he p o ec i e ole o hese a iables ega ding PA and bu nou .
Keywo ds: communica ion p o essionals; bu nou ; alues; psychosocial isks
1. In oduc ion
In o ma ion p o essionals ha e been iden i ied as a high- isk sec o o heal h p ob-
lems de i ed om wo k s ess and bu nou [
1
]. To a g ea ex en , some dis inc i e aspec s
ha e been conside ed wi h espec o o he p o essions as he main cause o his: he p o es-
sion has su e ed dizzying changes in he las decades. Consequen ly, hese ha e p oduced
d as ic cu s in he wo k o ce, as well as an o e load in he quan i y and a ie y o asks
which equi e cons an upda ing wi h new echnologies by he emaining pe sonnel [1,2].
1.1. S ess in Jou nalis s
Ini ial esea ch in his ield was ocused on he pos auma ic s ess symp oma ology
su e ed by wa co esponden s, o ca as ophe wi nesses/in o man s [
3
]; howe e , hese
d ama ic si ua ions a e no longe ep esen a i e o he ypical ac i i y o such p o essionals.
Psychosocial ac o s should be unde s ood as hose ha a e p esen in a ce ain
wo k en i onmen , in e ac ing be ween he pe son and he wo king condi ions, and ha
co espond o he con en and he compliance o he ask and he o ganiza ion i sel [
4
].
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 365. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/ije ph18020365 h ps://www.mdpi.com/jou nal/ije ph
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 365 2 o 12
These ac o s may become isks when hey igge maladjus men o psychophysiological
s ess esponses [
5
,
6
]. The lis o ac o s ha may become isks is qui e ex ensi e and
a ious aspec s ha e been highligh ed: o ganiza ional (hie a chy, esou ce managemen ,
supe ision, leade ship, wo king en i onmen ) [
7
]; employmen condi ions (s abili y,
o a ion, use o skills); ask (men al and physical load, con ol possibili y) [
8
]; ela ions
(wi h manage s, colleagues o clien s).
In o ma ion p o essionals, due o many causes (con inuous changes in o ma s, ech-
nology, demands, ins abili y a wo k, o li ing hei ca ee in a oca ional way), can ake on
a wide a ie y o esponsibili ies. All he while, he imes a e ma ked by he cu en clima e
o accep ing long and changeable schedules wi h li le s abili y [
4
]. O e load doesn’
seem o be he only a iable ha explains he wea in his and o he p o essions [
9
], he
psychosocial ac o s can a y acco ding o he ype o media (newspape , adio, ele ision,
news agency, e c.) and depending on he o ma (di ec , daily p ess, e c.). In an en i on-
men whe e changing eali y and immediacy p edomina e, i was o be expec ed ha he
a iable “possibili y o con ol o e he ask” had a bigge p edic ed powe o s ess le els,
especially, in audio isual en i onmen s [2,6,8].
To a g ea e o lesse deg ee, in hese kinds o en i onmen s i is usual o wo k in
di ec con ac wi h people: in e iewees, collabo a o s, lis ene s ha in e ac and demand.
On he o he hand, he need o eamwo k be ween epo e s, edi o s, documen a y make s,
p oduce s, manage s, e c., is common, c ea ing a ela ionship o dependency in an ac i i y
whe e e e y membe is essen ial and on which each should wo k o he bes o hei abili ies
wi hin a sho ime ame. The in e pe sonal ela ions be ween wo ke s, pa ne s, and
manage s, o be ween p o essionals in he ou side en i onmen , a e he mos impo an
and could become bo h a p o ec i e ac o bu a cause o s ess oo and gain special
impo ance in c i ical si ua ions o ha assmen when psychological agg essions a e used as
a me hod o o ce people in o abandoning he ield [10,11].
A cen al aspec in di e en p o essions is ecogni ion, eedback ha is necessa y, bu
di icul o ob ain in any wo k en i onmen , and e en mo e so in an en i onmen uled
by immediacy. In addi ion o ecogni ion and he sense pe cei ed o jus ice, a wo k-li e
a ea ha gains impo ance is he ela i e cong uence o incong uence be ween pe sonal
p inciples and hose o he o ganiza ion [
10
,
12
]. I is common ha an employee s a s hei
ca ee wi h a s ong commi men o hei pe sonal aims and hose o he company and, o
di e en easons, dis ances hemsel es o e ime [
9
]. We mus add o all hese ac o s ha
jou nalis s need o be up o da e wi h news and echnology upg ades which quickly each
obsole ion [
5
,
6
]. Beyond his, hey also mus show o sp ead con en , independen ly o
hei opinion, some imes a om hei belie s o ideologies, and ha could a ouse c i icism
o ejec ion in an audience ha is in cons an in e ac ion [10].
1.2. Ch onic S ess o Bu nou
The concep o bu nou has gene a ed con o e sy o decades, including when he
WHO ypi ied i as a wo k- ela ed pa hology [
4
]. Some au ho s, such as Pines and A onson,
ha e conside ed i a one-dimensional cons uc , cha ac e ized by exhaus ion [
13
], and
o he esea che s [
14
] ha e conside ed i a complex synd ome composed o he dimensions
o Emo ional Exhaus ion (EE), Depe sonaliza ion –o Cynicism (DP)–, and a diminished
sense o Pe sonal Accomplishmen (PA). In any case, his ch onic condi ion has d ama ic
consequences o employees’ heal h: dep ession, anxie y, immunological, ca dio ascula ,
diges i e p oblems, e c., as well as ad e se e ec s o he companies: absen eeism, job
abandonmen , e o s, e c. [15].
Since Maslach and Jackson (1981) gene a ed he “Maslach Bu nou In en o y” (MBI) [
14
]
o measu e he h ee subscales o EE, DP, and PA, coun less s udies ha e been ca ied ou
in di e en p o essions and mul iple coun ies [
10
,
16
]. La e , Lei e and Maslach o e ed a
model based on he a iables o “A eas o Wo k Li e” (AWL) [
17
], which could con ibu e
o bu nou expe ience. The p oposed a eas a e wo kload, con ol, ewa ds, communi y,
ai ness, and alues, and a e based on he esul s o se e al su eys on labo - ela ed s ess.
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 365 3 o 12
“Wo kload” has shown, in mul iple in es iga ions, i s di ec ela ionship wi h EE [
18
].
Closely ela ed o his, he ac ha he wo ke has “con ol” o e he ask can educe
EE
[9,10]
. O he a iables can be p o ec i e o dele e ious i espec i e o high o e load
si ua ions. In his way, “ ewa ds”— ecogni ion, o in insic sa is ac ion de i ed om
wo k–, a e a mode a ing a iable in he p ocess o bu nou a wo k [
19
]. “Communi y”
e e s o bo h in e pe sonal suppo ela ionships, in a posi i e sense, and con lic s wi h
manage s o colleagues, on he nega i e side [
11
,
17
]. The “ ai ness” a ea desc ibes he
pe cep ion o equi y el by employees wi hin hei o ganiza ion [
17
]. Finally, he a ea o
“ alues” e lec s he compa ibili y o con lic be ween he alues o he indi idual and
hose o he o ganiza ion, as well as he g ea mo i a ional po en ial ha he aims and
hopes o employees ha e when hey coincide wi h he goals o hei company [20].
Su eys om he “A eas o Wo kli e (AWL)” model show ha i explains a sig-
ni ican pe cen age o he bu nou a iance in di e ing p oduc i e sec o s a ound he
wo ld
[9,10,21]
, and is conside ed an op imal ins umen o e alua e psychosocial isk
ac o s be o e designing u u e in e en ions.
Al hough some in e en ion me hods aimed a he indi idual ha e ob ained empi ical
suppo in managing wo k s ess, hey a e no ully e ec i e on hei own and hei bene i s
end o decline o e ime [
22
]. The e o e, i is usually p e e able o implemen in e en ion
me hods a he o ganiza ional le el based on he s eng hs ound in an ini ial e alua ion,
ocusing on he elimina ion o modi ica ion o as many causes as possible o educe s ess
and p e en i s eappea ance in he u u e [23].
The objec i e o his esea ch was o desc ibe and analyze he main ac o s in ol ed
in he appea ance o bu nou in communica ion p o essionals in ela ion o a eas o wo k-
li e, sociodemog aphic, occupa ional, and heal h a iables, as well as obse ing possible
di e ences in hese a iables acco ding o di e en ypes o media, in o de o design
in e en ion p og ams in he media o es ablish a pe manen p e en i e cul u e. The
hypo hesis was ha he wo kload would be, as in many o he p o essions, he a ea ha
would mainly p edic he EE a es. Simila ly, i was expec ed ha he a iable “con ol”,
o lack o con ol o e he ask, would help explain he h ee dimensions o bu nou since
i was assumed ha jou nalis s mus deal wi h mul iple and di e en asks and ha he
la es news is no some hing ha can be con olled by hem.
2. Ma e ials and Me hods
A ans e sal desc ip i e s udy de eloped h oughou he mon hs o Sep embe o
Decembe o 2019. This i s analysis o psychosocial ac o s in he media is pa o a wide
s udy. The da a we e used o design and implemen a model o pe manen p e en ion
based on he cla i ica ion o he company’s alues, he implemen a ion o a anspa en
jus ice sys em, and he dis ibu ion o ewa ds. The e alua ion o possible imp o emen s
and hei main enance, h ough he model applica ion in a newspape , a adio s a ion, and
a ele ision s udio, has no ye been analyzed.
2.1. Pa icipan s
App oxima ely 1200 communica ion p o essionals wo k in A agon. A sample size
was eached, es ima ed acco ding o he e alua ion c i e ion o he 10:2 ecommended
a io o he numbe o subjec s and he numbe o es i ems included in he con i ma o y
ac o analysis. The e o e, psychome ic adequacy was p o ided o he analysis [
24
]. A
o al o 830 people we e in i ed o pa icipa e in conduc hei wo k in he communica ion
media in his Spanish egion. In o ma ion sessions we e held in he wo kplaces, con ac ing
hose in e es ed in pa icipa ing and dis ibu ing in o ma ion b ochu es. E-mails we e
sen om he Human Resou ces o ices. Addi ionally, con ac was made wi h he A agon
Jou nalis s Associa ion o sp ead he in o ma ion h ough hei usual channels amongs
hei membe s.
The inclusion c i e ia we e (a) subjec s o e 18; (b) hey unde s and spoken and
w i en Spanish; (c) hey gi e hei in o med consen ; (d) and hey a e wo king ac i ely in
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 365 4 o 12
any media in he au onomous communi y o A agon (Spain). Exclusion c i e ia we e he
ailu e o gi e consen and incomple e ques ionnai es.
A o al o 323 p o essionals showed hei a ailabili y o pa icipa e in he su ey.
Finally, a e applying he inclusion c i e ia, 292 p o essionals we e conside ed. Th ee
wo king g oups (wi h a o al o 13 p o essionals) we e c ea ed o discuss and in e p e he
inal esul s, in ligh o hei expe ience, and o make p oposals on he p e en i e design o
be implemen ed in hei wo king en i onmen s.
2.2. Ins umen s
Demog aphic and labo da ashee . The ollowing a iables we e collec ed: sociodemo-
g aphic a iables (gende , age, and cohabi a ion) and wo k a iables (wo king ime in he
ield o in o ma ion, wo k con ac ype, media ype (newspape , adio, ele ision, o he s)
and p o ession (manage , d a ing/sc eenw i e , epo e , ins i u ional communica ion,
came a pho og aphy, layou a is , publicis , adminis a o , and o he s).
Maslach Bu nou In en o y (MBI Gene al su ey, Maslach, Jackson and Lei e , 1996) [
14
].
I p o ides in o ma ion abou he h ee dimensions ha cons i u e hei heo e ical model
o bu nou : Emo ional Exhaus ion (EE), Depe sonaliza ion (DP), and Pe sonal Accom-
plishmen (PA). The ques ionnai e was alida ed in Spanish by Gil Mon e (2002) [
25
], who
ound he eliabili y o
α
: 0.89 o he EE, 0.67 o DP, and 0.74 o PA. The 16 i ems a e a ed
using a Like scale on which he equency wi h which he desc ibed si ua ion has been
expe ienced, om 0 o 6, is indica ed. Thus, o example, o he ques ion “I eel emo ionally
exhaus ed a wo k”, he answe should in o m o he equency wi h which i happens,
anging om 0, ne e , o 6, daily. Low sco es on p o essional e iciency and high sco es in
exhaus ion and cynicism mean pe cep ions o being “mo e bu ned by wo k”.
A eas o Wo kli e Scale (AWS, Lei e and Maslach, 1999) [
17
]. I consis s o 29 i ems
ha e alua e he deg ee o i o misma ch ha he p o essional pe cei es abou he main
a iables o hei wo k a ea en i onmen . Those a eas a e manageable wo kload, he
possibili y o con ol o e he asks, exis ence o non-exis ence o in insic ewa ds a wo k,
sense o communi y, pe cei ed jus ice o ai ness, and alues (conco dance be ween own
alues and hose o he o ganiza ion). The ques ionnai e eques s an answe o he i ems
wi h which he subjec ag ees, o some ex en , in each o he s a emen s. Fo example: in
he s a emen “I don’ ha e ime o do he wo k ha mus be done”, he subjec could
answe wi h 1 (s ongly disag ee) o 5 (s ongly ag ee). The e sion alida ed o Spanish
language was used [
26
], which gained a C onbach’s Alpha anging om 0.75 o 0.88:
Wo kload = 0.80
;
Con ol = 0.87
;
Rewa d = 0.84
;
Communi y = 0.75
;
Fai ness = 0.88
; and
Values = 0.85.
Gene al Heal h Ques ionnai e (GHQ -12, Goldbe g and Williams, 1988) [
27
]. I alues
gene al aspec s o cogni i e unc ion and psychological symp oms and is used in psychia ic
popula ions o ob ain he gene al assessmen o cogni i e unc ioning in ecen weeks. In
hei sho e sion, he 12 i ems epo ou subscales: soma ic symp oms, anxie y and
insomnia, social dys unc ion, and dep ession. Using he Like scale be ween 0 and 3, 0
indica ing always and 3 ne e . The alida ed Spanish e sion [
28
] e ealed a C onbach’s
alpha o 0.76 on he global scale.
2.3. S a is ical Analysis
The sample p esen ed a non-no mal dis ibu ion on he quan i a i e a iables; gi en
ha he Kolmogo o -Smi no s a is ic was used, he p- alues o all hese a iables we e
lowe han 0.05. Fo his eason, non-pa ame ic s a is ics we e chosen o he co ela ion
analysis—Spea man’s Rho—and compa ison o means be ween g oups—U Mann-Whi ney
and K uskal-Wallis. The co ela ion be ween he h ee bu nou dimensions (EE, DP, PA) and
o he a iables: age, expe ience, heal h pe cep ion, and wo k en i onmen we e analyzed.
The compa isons we e g ouped by gende , by ype o con ac (pe mean , empo a y,
sel -employed), and by he en i onmen in which he pa icipan was wo king.
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 365 5 o 12
A i s mul i a ia e model was de eloped o each o he h ee bu nou dimen-
sions. The independen a iables we e added in o he eg ession model wi h a s epwise
me hod [
29
] wi h which a inal model was ob ained o each ace o bu nou . Rega ding
he eg ession on EE, he wo kload was added in S ep 1 and he o he a eas in S ep 2.
This is because he wo kload is always closely co ela ed wi h EE and mus always be
included [
30
]. As o he eg ession on DP, EE was added a S ep 1, and subsequen ly he
a eas o wo k-li e; and o he eg ession on PA, DP was inse ed a S ep 1 and a e ha ,
he a eas o wo k-li e. This is because he h ee aspec s o bu nou de ine a synd ome. They
a e ela ed o one ano he and hose ela ionships among he h ee pa s o bu nou need
o be included in he analysis. Subsequen ly, a mul i a ia e scales model was de eloped o
iden i y he s eng h o he associa ions among he a iables. The independen a iables
we e pu in o he eg ession model wi h a s epwise me hod. Linea eg ession was ca ied
ou since he ollowing condi ions we e me : he esiduals o he model had a no mal
dis ibu ion (abo e all, because he sample size is e y high and, wi h he cen al limi he-
o em, any dis ibu ion wi h cons an mean and a iance—i i has a la ge enough sample
size—has a no mally dis ibu ed mean); and had a ini e mean and cons an a iance.
In e ac ions in a mul iple eg ession analysis we e also explo ed, in o de o in es iga e
whe he wo kload has a di e en e ec on he ou come (EE, DP, and PA) depending on he
alues o o he independen a iables (A eas o Wo kli e, AWS).
2.4. E hical Ques ions
The esea ch was conduc ed in acco dance wi h he Helsinki Decla a ion o 1975, as
e ised in 2008. E e y pa icipan subjec p e iously p o ided in o med consen o access
o he ques ionnai e and he da a was anonymized. The p ojec ecei ed he app o al
o he A agon Occupa ional Sa e y and Heal h Ins i u e (ISSLA, Go e nmen o A agon)
(Code 2018/0507).
3. Resul s
3.1. Desc ip ion o Sample
The sample consis ed o 292 subjec s: 145 males (49.7%) and 147 emales (50.3%). The
mean age was 43.45 yea s (SD: 9.56), age ange (22–67). O hem, 76.6% we e li ing wi h
a s able pa ne . In e ms o he wo k a iables, wo- hi ds o he sample had mo e han
12 yea s’
expe ience in he sec o , mo e han hal had a pe manen con ac , and p esen ed
mean low le els o exhaus ion, cynicism, and lack o pe sonal accomplishmen (Table 1).
Table 1.
Desc ip ion o he cha ac e is ics o he sample. Sociodemog aphic, labo , bu nou , and
wo k en i onmen a iables.
Pe cen ages/
Median (IQ Range) Ranks
P o ession
Execu i e 10.0%
W i ing, sc eenw i e 39.5%
Repo e 14.4%
Edi o /p esen e 16.7%
Pho og aphe , came aman 4.9%
Layou designe 0.8%
Publicis 1.9%
Adminis a ion 2.7%
Documen alis 3.3%
Media
Newspape s 26.4%
Radio 17.4%
Tele ision 32.1%
Ins i u ional P ess 24.2%

In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 365 6 o 12
Table 1. Con .
Pe cen ages/
Median (IQ Range) Ranks
Heal h pe cep ion 2 (0) 1–4
GHQ (Gene al Heal h Ques ionnai e) 24 (7) 0–36
EE (Emo ional Exhaus ion) 17 (15) 0–54
DP (Depe sonaliza ion) 6 (5) 0–18
PA (Pe sonal Accomplismen ) 7 (5) 0–24
Wo kload 16 (8) 6–30
Con ol 9 (5) 3–15
Rewa ds 14 (5) 4–20
Communi y 17 (5) 5–25
Fai ness 17 (9) 6–30
Values 16 (7) 5–25
IQ Range: in e qua ile ange.
3.2. Bu nou ’s Dimensions, A eas o Wo k-Li e, and Heal h
In e ms o he co ela ions ob ained be ween he bu nou dimensions and he main
a iables o in es iga ion (Table 2), EE shows di ec co ela ion and s a is ical signi icance
wi h he o he wo bu nou dimensions (DP and PA), as well as wi h heal h pe cep ion
a iables and an in e se co ela ion and s a is ical signi icance wi h he wo kload, con ol,
ewa ds, communi y, ai ness, and alues. DP shows di ec signi ican co ela ions wi h
he heal h pe cep ion a iable, wi h he o he bu nou dimensions (EE and PA), and
an in e se signi ican co ela ion wi h con ol, heal h pe cep ion, ewa ds, communi y,
ai ness, and alues.
Table 2.
Co ela ions (Spea man’s Rho) be ween he dimensions o Emo ional Exhaus ion (EE),
Depe sonaliza ion (DP), and Pe sonal Accomplishmen (PA)(bu nou ), Six A eas o Wo kli e, and
pe sonal and heal h a iables.
EE DP PA
Age −0.068 −0.037 −0.065
Time wo ked (yea s) 0.020 0.112 0.075
Heal h pe cep ion 0.215 ** 0.174 ** 0.130 *
GHQ 0.645 ** 0.418 ** 0.528 **
DP 0.468 ** 0.688 **
PA 0.688 ** 0.490 **
Wo kload −0.588 ** −0.080 −0.364 **
Con ol −0.516 ** −0.356 ** −0.487 **
Rewa ds −0.552 ** −0.458 ** −0.529 **
Communi y −0.504 ** −0.399 ** −0.495 **
Fai ness −0.513 ** −0.324 ** −0.512 **
Values −0.567 ** −0.354 ** −0.576 **
*p< 0.05, ** p< 0.01; N = 292.
A sequen ial model o bu nou was analyzed, using mul iple linea eg ession, e i y-
ing ha he wo kload a iable was he main p edic o o EE (
−
1.297), oge he wi h alues
(
−
1.072). EE u ned ou o be he a iable ha con ibu ed he mos o DP (0.132), while
he dimensions o DP and EE we e s a is ically signi ican p edic o s o PA (0.355 and 0.287,
espec i ely) [17].
The esul s o he linea eg ession model, aking in o accoun each dimension o
bu nou sepa a ely as dependen a iables showed ha , wi h espec o he dimension
o EE, wo kload, ewa ds, alues, and communi y we e shown as in e se coe icien s
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 365 7 o 12
p edic o s, and ha o each poin o he wo kload a iable i dec eases by almos a
poin (
−
0.941) EE. Fu he mo e, o each poin o ewa ds, alues, and communi y, EE
dec eased by app oxima ely hal a poin (0.648, 0.538, and 0.491, espec i ely). The model
accoun s o 57.1% o he global a iance (Table 3). Taking DP as a dependen a iable,
ewa d and communi y a e in e se coe icien s o he depe sonaliza ion p edic o s, so
ha wi h each poin he communi y and ewa d a iables, depe sonaliza ion dec eased
0.30 and 0.19 poin s. The model accoun s o 23.3% o he a iance. Finally, when aking
PA as a dependen a iable, he ollowing a iables we e shown o be in e se p edic ing
coe icien s: cong uence alues, ewa ds, communi y, and manageable load. Wi h each
poin on he a iables— alues, ewa ds, communi y, and load, 0.398, 0.334, 0.260, and
0.155 poin s, espec i ely—, a dec ease in lack o pe sonal accomplishmen was ound. The
model accoun s o 46.3% o he a iance.
Table 3.
Linea eg ession model, aking as dependen a iables: EE, DP, and PA and as independen
a iables he Six A eas o Wo k Li e.
EE Coe icien p-Value Con idence In e al 95%
Lowe Uppe
Cons an 59.588 <0.001 54.74 64.42
Wo kload −0.945 <0.001 −1.14 −0.74
Rewa ds −0.655 <0.001 −0.99 −0.31
Values −0.556 <0.001 −0.82 −0.28
Communi y −0.465 0.002 −0.76 −0.16
R2 0.580
R2adj 0.573
DP Coe icien p-Value Con idence In e al 95%
Lowe Uppe
Cons an 13.822 <0.001 12.03 15.60
Rewa ds −0.307 <0.001 −0.43 −0.17
Communi y −0.193 0.001 −0.31 −0.07
R2 0.240
R2adj 0.234
PA Coe icien p-Value Con idence In e al 95%
Lowe Uppe
Cons an 25.853 <0.001 23.15 28.54
Values −0.399 <0.001 −0.54 −0.25
Rewa ds −0.330 0.001 −0.51 −0.14
Communi y −0.265 0.002 −0.42 −1.00
Wo kload −0.163 0.005 −0.27 −0.05
R2 0.475
R2adj 0.466
Rega ding he in e ac ions in a mul iple eg ession analysis, he wo kload is ela ed
o DP in a di e en way when employees ha e a high o low sco e in con ol (
−
0.476,
p= 0.030
). Addi ionally, he wo kload is ela ed o PA in a di e en way when he em-
ployees ha e a high o low sco e in ewa ds (
−
0.763, p= 0.005). Finally, he wo kload is
associa ed wi h PA in a di e en way when he employees ha e a high o low sco e in he
communi y (
−
0.593, p= 0.028). We c ea ed Figu e 1 o show hose signi ican in e ac ions.
The es o he in e ac ions we e no meaning ul.
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 365 8 o 12
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021, 18, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 o 12
Figu e 1. Signi ican in e ac ions.
In e ms o he di e en ypes o media (newspape s, adio, TV, ins i u ional p ess)
in he s udy (as is shown in Table 4), signi ican di e ences we e ound ela ing o he
ollowing a iables: PA, con ol, ewa ds, communi y, ai ness, and alues. The ins i u-
ional p ess wo ke s showed signi ican ly highe sco es in con ol, ewa ds, communi y,
jus ice, and alues, and lowe sco es in PA compa ed o newspape s, adio, o TV wo k-
e s, al hough he e we e no signi ican di e ences compa ing wo kload among he di e -
en ypes o media.
Table 4. Compa ison o medians acco ding o he wo k en i onmen o he a iables o pe cep ion o heal h, bu nou , and
Six A eas o Wo k Li e.
P ess Radio TV Ins i u ional P ess p-Value
Median (IQ) Median (IQ) Median (IQ) Median (IQ)
Heal h pe cep ion 2 (0) 2 (0) 2 (0) 2 (0) 0.655
GHQ12 24 (8) 25 (8.5) 24 (6) 23 (6.25) 0.151
EE 16 (16) 20 (17.75) 17 (13.75) 13.5 (13) 0.127
DP 6 (5) 7 (5.5) 6.5 (5) 5.5 (6) 0.160
PA 8 (7.25) 9 (6.75) 7 (4) 5 (8) 0.010 *
Wo kload 16 (8.25) 16 (9) 15 (7.5) 17 (9) 0.506
Con ol 9 (6) 9.5 (3.75) 9 (5) 11 (4) 0.020 *
Rewa ds 13 (6) 13 (5) 13 (6) 16 (5) 0.011 *
Comnuni y 16.5 (5.25) 18 (6) 16 (4.5) 18 (4.5) 0.016 *
Fai ness 16 (7.5) 17.5 (8.5) 15 (8.5) 19 (9) 0.006 **
Values 15 (7) 16 (6) 14 (6) 19 (5) <0.001 **
IQ: in e qua ile ange. S a is ic used: K uskal-Wallis. * p < 0,05, ** p < 0,01
4. Discussion
As e idenced by se e al in es iga ions conduc ed in di e en wo k en i onmen s,
ou s udy wi h jou nalis s showed ha he highe he manageable load index, he lowe
he le el o EE [9,31]. Howe e , he possibili y o exe cising “con ol” o e he ask i sel
was no shown o be an explana o y a iable o any o he bu nou dimensions, as we
hypo hesized be o e his s udy began. This hypo hesis was plausible, since communica-
ion p o essionals wo k wi h an uncon ollable subjec — he la es news—and, equen ly,
hey a e o ced o change hei schedules and calenda s because o i . O he a eas con ib-
u ed o deple ion le els, namely, as he “cong uence o alues” inc eases, exhaus ion le -
els dec ease in a s a is ically signi ican ela ionship.
The incong uence be ween own alues and hose o he company can e ode he
wo ke on a psychological le el, no h ough physical o e -exe ion, bu emo ionally and
on a daily basis. This phenomenon is common among p o essions wi h a s ong oca ional
Figu e 1. Signi ican in e ac ions.
In e ms o he di e en ypes o media (newspape s, adio, TV, ins i u ional p ess)
in he s udy (as is shown in Table 4), signi ican di e ences we e ound ela ing o he
ollowing a iables: PA, con ol, ewa ds, communi y, ai ness, and alues. The ins i u-
ional p ess wo ke s showed signi ican ly highe sco es in con ol, ewa ds, communi y,
jus ice, and alues, and lowe sco es in PA compa ed o newspape s, adio, o TV wo ke s,
al hough he e we e no signi ican di e ences compa ing wo kload among he di e en
ypes o media.
Table 4.
Compa ison o medians acco ding o he wo k en i onmen o he a iables o pe cep ion o heal h, bu nou , and
Six A eas o Wo k Li e.
P ess Radio TV Ins i u ional P ess p-Value
Median (IQ) Median (IQ) Median (IQ) Median (IQ)
Heal h pe cep ion 2 (0) 2 (0) 2 (0) 2 (0) 0.655
GHQ12 24 (8) 25 (8.5) 24 (6) 23 (6.25) 0.151
EE 16 (16) 20 (17.75) 17 (13.75) 13.5 (13) 0.127
DP 6 (5) 7 (5.5) 6.5 (5) 5.5 (6) 0.160
PA 8 (7.25) 9 (6.75) 7 (4) 5 (8) 0.010 *
Wo kload 16 (8.25) 16 (9) 15 (7.5) 17 (9) 0.506
Con ol 9 (6) 9.5 (3.75) 9 (5) 11 (4) 0.020 *
Rewa ds 13 (6) 13 (5) 13 (6) 16 (5) 0.011 *
Comnuni y 16.5 (5.25) 18 (6) 16 (4.5) 18 (4.5) 0.016 *
Fai ness 16 (7.5) 17.5 (8.5) 15 (8.5) 19 (9) 0.006 **
Values 15 (7) 16 (6) 14 (6) 19 (5) <0.001 **
IQ: in e qua ile ange. S a is ic used: K uskal-Wallis. * p< 0.05, ** p< 0.01.
4. Discussion
As e idenced by se e al in es iga ions conduc ed in di e en wo k en i onmen s,
ou s udy wi h jou nalis s showed ha he highe he manageable load index, he lowe
he le el o EE [
9
,
31
]. Howe e , he possibili y o exe cising “con ol” o e he ask i sel
was no shown o be an explana o y a iable o any o he bu nou dimensions, as we
hypo hesized be o e his s udy began. This hypo hesis was plausible, since communica ion
p o essionals wo k wi h an uncon ollable subjec — he la es news—and, equen ly, hey
a e o ced o change hei schedules and calenda s because o i . O he a eas con ibu ed
o deple ion le els, namely, as he “cong uence o alues” inc eases, exhaus ion le els
dec ease in a s a is ically signi ican ela ionship.
The incong uence be ween own alues and hose o he company can e ode he wo ke
on a psychological le el, no h ough physical o e -exe ion, bu emo ionally and on a
daily basis. This phenomenon is common among p o essions wi h a s ong oca ional
cha ac e (heal h o educa ion) [
31
], whe e he e may be a con inuous clash be ween he
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2021,18, 365 9 o 12
ideals ha ini ially guided he pe son owa ds ha ac i i y and he obliga ion o ca y ou
di e en ac i i ies, pa icula ly hose con a y o his o he pe sonal ideals.
An inc ease in o e load a es and a dec ease in he cong uence o alues seem o
lead communica ion p o essionals in his s udy owa ds physical, men al, and emo ional
bu nou , which, acco ding o hese esul s, co ela es wi h he o he wo dimensions o
bu nou , DP and PA, and o which he six a eas poin ed ou by Lei e and Maslach also
con ibu ed in di e en ways (depending on he media): wo kload, con ol, ewa ds, com-
muni y, ai ness, and alues [17]. These dimensions also showed a s a is ically signi ican
ela ionship wi h heal h pe cep ions.
The esul s poin o con i ma ion o he sequen ial model o bu nou sugges ed by
Lei e , in which wo kload indices con ibu e o he EE and his, in u n, o he DP and PA.
Howe e , as i has been shown in se e al s udies [
10
], o he wo king li e a eas can inc ease
o also mode a e hese bu nou le els, cynicism o lack o pe sonal accomplishmen ,
leading o wha has been called “a double p ocess model o bu nou ”.
Thus, a high wo kload can be obse ed in a wo k en i onmen and ye , high a es o
EE may no occu , as would be expec ed, since o he a iables such as con ol o e he ask,
good pe sonal ela ions, o an adequa e adjus men be ween own alues and hose o he
company, may p o ec employees. In such a case, and in o de o p e en his, hese alues
mus be obse ed and s eng hened because i hey we e o be weakened, he exhaus ion
p ocess due o o e load could be as and d ama ic [9,21].
In he case o p o essionals in his s udy, and aking in o accoun he di e en media in
gene al, i was ound ha , in addi ion o wo kload, as bo h he index o in insic “ ewa ds”
o wo k and he le els in communi y (a p oblema ic pe cep ion in labo ela ions) dec ease,
he le els o EE inc ease. This inc ease in in e pe sonal con lic and dec ease in ewa ds
also con ibu ed o an inc ease in he sense o DP, and hese same a iables, oge he wi h
low le els o alue cong uence, gene ally con ibu e o a signi ican dec ease in lack o PA.
The ewa ds do no ha e much o do wi h he sala y ecei ed, bu a he wi h he posi i e
eedback o doing a good job, he ecogni ion o bosses, colleagues, and he public. In
sho , i e e s o he eeling ha hei e o s a e wo hwhile.
Howe e , hese esul s a e no he same o all p o essionals, no o all ypes o media.
I was ound ha o e load ac ed e y di e en ly, depending on whe he he indi idual
pe cei ed con ol o e hei ask o no , o whe he hey el g a i ied o com o ed by hei
bosses and colleagues. The o e load a iable also had di e en consequences depending
on he wo k en i onmen , o he employees’ pe cei ed sense o communi y.
The di e ences ound among di e en ypes o media (newspape s, adio, TV, in-
s i u ional p ess), bo h in he dimensions o bu nou and in he a eas ha con ibu e o
hose alues, we e s a is ically signi ican in he pe sonal accomplishmen dimension (PA).
Al hough all o hem endu ed simila wo kload le els, his did no occu in he a eas o
con ol, ewa ds, communi y, ai ness, and alues be ween he ins i u ional p ess and
he es o he media (w i en and audio- isual p ess), esul ing in di e ences in bu nou ,
especially in pe sonal accomplishmen a wo k.
In subsequen discussions, wi h p o essionals om di e en media o which he
esul s we e shown, explana ions we e gi en o he ac ha jou nalis s, in gene al, begin
hei ca ee s wi h ambi ions ha a e no o an economic na u e, bu wi h ideals o elling
he u h, con ibu ing o in o ma ion, change, and pe cei ing ha hei wo k has meaning.
O e he yea s, many ha e he eeling o “ illing in he pages”, o “ elling i ele an
s o ies”, o hey e en w i e o b oadcas con en con a y o hei con ic ions o ision
o eali y. On he o he hand, hose who wo k o he ins i u ional p ess ha e i ed hei
oca ion in o a poli ical, social, o economic p ojec . They ha e accep ed his posi ion
because he e is an a ini y in alues and goals and, he e o e, i is no a p oblem o hem
o in es mo e ime o e o in he ac i i ies, as hey wo k owa ds a common goal wi h
hei supe io s.
Enough scien i ic suppo has no been ound on his ma e ega ding communica ion
p o essionals [
32
,
33
], al hough we conside ha i could be ex apola ed o o he p o essions.