Psychological and work-related factors associated with emotional exhaustion among healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 outbreak in Italian hospitals

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has induced considerable psychological distress in healthcare workers, increasing the risk of burnout. This research aimed to investigate sociodemographic, work-related, COVID-19-related, and psychological factors associated with emotional exhaustion (the core component of burnout) among healthcare professionals during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess risk (e.g. perceived risk and fear of contagion, stress) and protective factors (e.g. job satisfaction, resilience) for emotional exhaustion among 616 hospital staff. Women, nurses, shift workers, those with a permanent contract, and frontline workers reported significantly higher levels of emotional exhaustion compared to others. Significant risk factors predicting emotional exhaustion were prolonged use of personal protective equipment, increased work pressure, lack of support, and prolonged working hours; psychologically protective factors were resilience and job satisfaction, while perceived stress was found to be a significant psychological risk factor. Organizational interventions should focus on these factors to prevent the onset of burnout.